1 00:00:01,600 --> 00:00:03,800 You're listening to the Bridgetown Church Podcast with 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:06,880 Pastor Casey Kendall, where our vision is Jesus, our mission is 3 00:00:06,880 --> 00:00:09,760 people, and our cause is love. Thanks for tuning in. 4 00:00:10,040 --> 00:00:12,720 Let's dive in. It's great to be back with you 5 00:00:12,720 --> 00:00:15,840 guys Sunday. It's always, it's a homecoming 6 00:00:15,840 --> 00:00:19,080 for a Pam and I. We love you dearly. 7 00:00:19,800 --> 00:00:22,920 Today, our text, we're going to be in First Corinthians chapter 8 00:00:22,920 --> 00:00:26,720 15. We'll take a little off ramp to 9 00:00:26,720 --> 00:00:29,760 the Philippians, but our main text is going to be First 10 00:00:29,760 --> 00:00:35,440 Corinthians chapter 15. As you guys turn there, one of 11 00:00:35,440 --> 00:00:39,040 my favorite quotes about the church body, about the church 12 00:00:39,040 --> 00:00:42,600 gathering. It reads like this. 13 00:00:43,440 --> 00:00:48,400 In very large gatherings, I remember that God is there and 14 00:00:48,400 --> 00:00:52,840 he makes it small and very small gatherings. 15 00:00:52,920 --> 00:00:56,440 I remember that God is there and He makes it grand. 16 00:00:57,600 --> 00:01:02,680 In either scenario, God is here. He's in the lives of His 17 00:01:02,680 --> 00:01:04,080 believers, in the lives of His children. 18 00:01:04,080 --> 00:01:06,400 He's here in the church. And I don't know where you're at 19 00:01:06,400 --> 00:01:11,720 today, but God called you here to church this Sunday morning to 20 00:01:11,720 --> 00:01:14,120 hear something because He loves you very much. 21 00:01:14,600 --> 00:01:18,880 So come with expectant hearts, come with open ears and eyes 22 00:01:18,880 --> 00:01:23,000 willing to see Jesus, and He's going to move in your life. 23 00:01:23,160 --> 00:01:26,880 Amen. With that being said, First 24 00:01:26,880 --> 00:01:29,880 Corinthians chapter 15, we're going to start in verse one and 25 00:01:29,880 --> 00:01:31,440 then we're going to jump to verse 12. 26 00:01:33,080 --> 00:01:37,120 Hear the word of the Lord. Paul the Apostle writes this. 27 00:01:37,600 --> 00:01:40,840 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I 28 00:01:40,840 --> 00:01:44,120 preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 29 00:01:44,480 --> 00:01:48,480 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the 30 00:01:48,480 --> 00:01:51,360 word I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. 31 00:01:52,040 --> 00:01:54,920 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also 32 00:01:54,920 --> 00:01:59,000 received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the 33 00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:02,040 Scriptures. That He was buried, that He was 34 00:02:02,040 --> 00:02:04,480 raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. 35 00:02:05,160 --> 00:02:08,240 Verse 12. Now if Christ is proclaimed as 36 00:02:08,240 --> 00:02:11,520 raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no 37 00:02:11,520 --> 00:02:14,880 resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection 38 00:02:14,880 --> 00:02:17,880 of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 39 00:02:18,360 --> 00:02:21,360 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in 40 00:02:21,360 --> 00:02:25,280 vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be 41 00:02:25,280 --> 00:02:29,360 misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that He 42 00:02:29,360 --> 00:02:33,640 raised Christ, whom he did not raise, if it is true that the 43 00:02:33,640 --> 00:02:37,320 dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, 44 00:02:37,600 --> 00:02:41,160 not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been 45 00:02:41,160 --> 00:02:46,560 raised, your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins, 46 00:02:47,360 --> 00:02:50,120 Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 47 00:02:50,840 --> 00:02:56,120 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all 48 00:02:56,120 --> 00:02:59,680 people most to be pitied. Verse 20. 49 00:03:00,520 --> 00:03:06,080 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first 50 00:03:06,080 --> 00:03:07,920 fruits of those who have fallen asleep. 51 00:03:08,640 --> 00:03:13,000 For as by a man came, death, by a man has come also the 52 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:17,640 resurrection of the dead. For as an Adam all die, so also 53 00:03:17,640 --> 00:03:21,560 in Christ shall all be made alive, but each in his own 54 00:03:21,560 --> 00:03:24,560 order. Christ the firstfruits then at 55 00:03:24,560 --> 00:03:26,840 his coming those who belong to Christ. 56 00:03:27,400 --> 00:03:30,560 Then comes the end, when he delivers the Kingdom of God, the 57 00:03:30,560 --> 00:03:34,200 Kingdom to God the Father, after destroying every rule and every 58 00:03:34,200 --> 00:03:37,680 authority and power. For he must reign until he has 59 00:03:37,680 --> 00:03:39,320 put all his enemies under his feet. 60 00:03:40,040 --> 00:03:45,080 The last enemy to be destroyed is death, for God has put all 61 00:03:45,080 --> 00:03:47,560 things in subjection under his feet. 62 00:03:48,520 --> 00:03:51,600 This is the word of the Lord. Let's pray. 63 00:03:52,440 --> 00:03:55,640 Father, thank you for your word. I pray that you would speak to 64 00:03:55,640 --> 00:03:57,000 me and through me to your people. 65 00:03:57,480 --> 00:04:01,840 Give us ears to hear your voice. By your Spirit convict hearts 66 00:04:02,200 --> 00:04:06,280 comfort and courage and build up your people and their most holy 67 00:04:06,280 --> 00:04:08,720 faith. We love you and we worship you 68 00:04:08,720 --> 00:04:15,680 now in Jesus name, Amen. I'm going to take it back to the 69 00:04:15,840 --> 00:04:24,840 the glory days for me. 2007 yes, I'm a baby. 2007 summer of 2007, 70 00:04:24,840 --> 00:04:30,040 specifically the sequel of a generation just came out on 71 00:04:30,040 --> 00:04:32,520 Disney Channel and you know what it is? 72 00:04:33,480 --> 00:04:39,160 High School Musical two baby. So there I am, just finished my 73 00:04:39,160 --> 00:04:43,600 freshman year of high school. High School Musical 2 comes out 74 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:46,440 and it is the sequel of The Generation. 75 00:04:47,120 --> 00:04:48,880 I wasn't at all interested in it. 76 00:04:49,040 --> 00:04:53,520 Obviously I'm a young freshman guy, too cool for school, wasn't 77 00:04:53,520 --> 00:04:56,880 at all interested, but the girls I was crushing on certainly 78 00:04:56,880 --> 00:05:01,360 were. So by, you know, just wanting to 79 00:05:01,360 --> 00:05:04,040 crush on them, I had to be familiar with it. 80 00:05:04,920 --> 00:05:09,280 Fast forward to today, I am now the proud father of two little 81 00:05:09,280 --> 00:05:14,200 girls because I married one of those crazy junior high girls 82 00:05:14,200 --> 00:05:16,240 that was obsessed with High School Musical. 83 00:05:17,280 --> 00:05:21,520 So you can imagine what movies are playing in our house, High 84 00:05:21,520 --> 00:05:23,920 School Musical too. That's my daughter's Maddie. 85 00:05:23,920 --> 00:05:25,680 That's her favorite movie right now. 86 00:05:26,720 --> 00:05:29,320 There's an opening song, High School Musical too. 87 00:05:29,320 --> 00:05:34,560 It's where all the students at Eastside High are sitting in the 88 00:05:34,560 --> 00:05:38,840 classroom, bored out of their mind, counting the minutes until 89 00:05:38,840 --> 00:05:41,400 summer arrives. The clock's ticking. 90 00:05:41,960 --> 00:05:45,560 They each start to chant, and they start to pound the desk and 91 00:05:45,560 --> 00:05:49,480 they chant Summer, summer, summer. 92 00:05:50,040 --> 00:05:53,880 Which leads to the opening number about school's out. 93 00:05:54,360 --> 00:05:56,560 Let's live the greatest sum of our lives. 94 00:05:57,280 --> 00:06:00,120 Now. As silly as this is, this number 95 00:06:00,120 --> 00:06:03,120 captures the mindset of the typical student pretty well. 96 00:06:04,240 --> 00:06:07,040 I know that you can vividly remember dividing the school 97 00:06:07,040 --> 00:06:10,040 year according to your breaks. That's the only way you made it 98 00:06:10,040 --> 00:06:12,920 through the school year. You would tell yourself, I just 99 00:06:12,920 --> 00:06:17,800 need to get to winter break and then spring break and then 100 00:06:17,800 --> 00:06:20,320 finally summer. I can do this. 101 00:06:20,880 --> 00:06:24,040 It's almost here. I can withstand this test 102 00:06:24,040 --> 00:06:26,160 because summer is around the corner. 103 00:06:27,080 --> 00:06:31,160 In this situation, it's the anticipation of what's to come 104 00:06:31,160 --> 00:06:33,440 that enables the student to continue on. 105 00:06:34,040 --> 00:06:36,920 It drives the student to keep going because they anticipate 106 00:06:37,320 --> 00:06:41,840 finally being free for summer, so they keep moving forward in 107 00:06:41,840 --> 00:06:45,040 hope and anticipation of the coming break. 108 00:06:46,320 --> 00:06:48,800 There's moments like this in all of our lives, even outside of 109 00:06:48,800 --> 00:06:52,800 school. Here's some examples. 2 engaged 110 00:06:52,800 --> 00:06:56,800 lovers. A man and a woman anticipating 111 00:06:56,800 --> 00:07:00,400 their wedding day and the rest of their lives together, which 112 00:07:00,400 --> 00:07:04,160 enables them to endure the chaotic planning process. 113 00:07:05,440 --> 00:07:10,320 A pregnant woman anticipating the joy of being called mom? 114 00:07:11,520 --> 00:07:14,800 It enables her to endure nine months of a rough pregnancy. 115 00:07:16,280 --> 00:07:20,680 A businessman anticipating the next golf outing and then 116 00:07:20,680 --> 00:07:24,160 drinking a cold one with the boys enables him to endure 117 00:07:24,160 --> 00:07:27,840 another bad quarter of sales. There's these moments in our 118 00:07:27,840 --> 00:07:33,600 lives where we're put through the ringer, yet we are hopeful 119 00:07:33,600 --> 00:07:36,920 that things will get better because we feel that we can see 120 00:07:36,920 --> 00:07:42,040 change on the horizon. So a question I have for you, 121 00:07:43,480 --> 00:07:46,640 Church believer. Where do you anticipate your 122 00:07:46,640 --> 00:07:51,040 life heading from here on out? What are you anticipating in 123 00:07:51,040 --> 00:07:52,680 your life at this current moment? 124 00:07:53,920 --> 00:07:59,120 Is it your next vacation? Is it the end of summer breaks? 125 00:07:59,120 --> 00:08:04,080 Your kids go back to school? Parents, what exactly drives you 126 00:08:04,080 --> 00:08:10,800 now as a Christian to endure hardship and suffering? 127 00:08:11,840 --> 00:08:15,920 What do you anticipate in the near future that will enable 128 00:08:15,920 --> 00:08:19,280 enable you to endure in the present circumstance? 129 00:08:21,080 --> 00:08:24,160 I want you to take a look at your world and your social 130 00:08:24,160 --> 00:08:26,160 sphere today, the culture that's all around you. 131 00:08:28,040 --> 00:08:32,720 What in the world is going on? It's crazy out there, right? 132 00:08:32,720 --> 00:08:39,799 It's nuts. 24/7 doom scrolling on social media and a polarizing 133 00:08:39,799 --> 00:08:42,720 news cycle that's focused on the worst of humanity. 134 00:08:44,400 --> 00:08:49,240 It's bred a culture of fear and anxiety about the future. 135 00:08:50,480 --> 00:08:53,880 And this is to be expected of people outside the Church of the 136 00:08:53,880 --> 00:08:59,000 World, for they have no hope. But in recent days, I've had 137 00:08:59,000 --> 00:09:02,560 friends, I've had family members, I've had even seen 138 00:09:02,560 --> 00:09:05,160 people on that social media presence. 139 00:09:06,040 --> 00:09:09,200 I've seen this fear and anxiety reach the doorstep of the 140 00:09:09,200 --> 00:09:13,000 church. It's no longer just out there. 141 00:09:14,520 --> 00:09:18,080 It's crept into the church because the culture that we're 142 00:09:18,080 --> 00:09:23,320 living in is so anxiety filled, so fear driven and it's hard to 143 00:09:23,320 --> 00:09:28,040 withstand it. Church Bridgetown, I want to let 144 00:09:28,040 --> 00:09:32,320 you know that we have an opportune moment right now to 145 00:09:32,320 --> 00:09:37,360 meet that fear and anxiety with a message of hope. 146 00:09:39,200 --> 00:09:44,240 We, the church, the people of God have the truth, the message 147 00:09:44,240 --> 00:09:47,680 of hope. So this morning we're going to 148 00:09:47,680 --> 00:09:51,680 study the that biblical hope. Here's that biblical hope ready. 149 00:09:52,640 --> 00:09:56,360 It's what the Scripture calls the resurrection of the dead. 150 00:09:57,880 --> 00:10:02,360 The resurrection of the dead. Your whole Old Testament foresaw 151 00:10:02,360 --> 00:10:04,720 it. And the New Testament authors, 152 00:10:04,720 --> 00:10:08,400 the apostles, the writers, they explain it. 153 00:10:09,200 --> 00:10:12,600 This is the common thread that runs through the text of 154 00:10:12,600 --> 00:10:14,400 Scripture. It's this hope for the 155 00:10:14,400 --> 00:10:17,280 resurrection of the dead. And we, the church, have this 156 00:10:17,280 --> 00:10:19,880 message of hope. So we want to study that this 157 00:10:19,880 --> 00:10:22,720 morning in First Corinthians chapter 15, we're going to see 158 00:10:22,720 --> 00:10:26,880 how this truth, this hope was the driving force behind Paul, 159 00:10:26,880 --> 00:10:30,920 the apostles life. And this morning I'm praying 160 00:10:30,920 --> 00:10:33,680 that this would be the beginning of a prospective shift for you 161 00:10:33,960 --> 00:10:38,960 believer that we would be a people of hope and not acquiesce 162 00:10:38,960 --> 00:10:41,920 to the fear and anxiety that's going on in the culture around 163 00:10:41,920 --> 00:10:43,560 us. Amen. 164 00:10:44,720 --> 00:10:48,000 So let's get down to it. First Corinthians chapter 15 165 00:10:48,000 --> 00:10:50,880 verses one through 4. Paul starts his argument in 166 00:10:50,880 --> 00:10:53,840 First Corinthians 15 talking about the gospel. 167 00:10:54,360 --> 00:10:57,000 He says, I remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, 168 00:10:57,240 --> 00:10:59,840 which you received and which you stand and by which you are being 169 00:10:59,840 --> 00:11:02,320 saved. If you hold fast to the Word, I 170 00:11:02,320 --> 00:11:06,240 preach to you, unless you believed in vain, For I 171 00:11:06,240 --> 00:11:10,520 delivered to you as a first importance what I also received, 172 00:11:11,080 --> 00:11:14,280 that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 173 00:11:14,760 --> 00:11:18,280 that he was buried and that he was raised on the third day in 174 00:11:18,280 --> 00:11:21,080 accordance with the Scriptures. We'll stop there for now. 175 00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:24,320 Here in this portion of the text, Paul reminds the 176 00:11:24,320 --> 00:11:28,360 Corinthian church about what is of first importance, What's 177 00:11:28,360 --> 00:11:30,600 primary? The gospel. 178 00:11:31,160 --> 00:11:34,200 The gospel's primary. It is the message about Jesus 179 00:11:34,200 --> 00:11:40,240 that saves and redeems humanity from the very that redeems 180 00:11:40,240 --> 00:11:42,680 humanity from sin. And it's the very foundation of 181 00:11:42,680 --> 00:11:44,080 our lives. As believers. 182 00:11:44,720 --> 00:11:47,720 We must be clear about what we believe. 183 00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:51,600 And to continue, continue to endure in that belief, we need 184 00:11:51,600 --> 00:11:56,520 to be clear about the gospel. Now, Paul calls this gospel the 185 00:11:56,520 --> 00:11:58,960 first, most important thing, the primary thing. 186 00:11:59,600 --> 00:12:01,280 Now, right now, we're in the middle of a series called 187 00:12:01,280 --> 00:12:04,920 Collab, and the emphasis is collaboration in the people of 188 00:12:04,920 --> 00:12:07,520 God. Different speakers coming in to 189 00:12:07,520 --> 00:12:09,960 Bridgetown to bless you as you bless them. 190 00:12:10,280 --> 00:12:14,080 Together we link arms and we go forth on mission into the world 191 00:12:14,360 --> 00:12:17,440 to preach the gospel, to teach the gospel, to make disciples of 192 00:12:17,440 --> 00:12:19,200 all nations. We work together. 193 00:12:19,960 --> 00:12:24,520 Now collaboration, my friend, is going to require unity in the 194 00:12:24,520 --> 00:12:28,360 church, the people of God. So that's why Paul starts off 195 00:12:28,360 --> 00:12:30,720 his argument with the gospel. First, let's be clear about 196 00:12:30,720 --> 00:12:33,680 this, the primary thing, the gospel. 197 00:12:34,360 --> 00:12:37,320 Here's the key. If we're going to get unity 198 00:12:37,320 --> 00:12:41,720 across denominations and theological traditions, we need 199 00:12:41,720 --> 00:12:45,120 to be clear on what unites us. And the key is the gospel. 200 00:12:46,120 --> 00:12:48,680 We're not. This isn't unique to us. 201 00:12:48,680 --> 00:12:53,080 This is actually a struggle in the early, early church, like 202 00:12:53,080 --> 00:12:55,200 the Apostles church, even in their time. 203 00:12:55,560 --> 00:12:59,320 Acts chapter 15, we see this thing called the Jerusalem 204 00:12:59,320 --> 00:13:02,520 Council where it's come to the attention of the Jewish 205 00:13:02,520 --> 00:13:05,880 believers and the Jewish leaders there, Peter, James and John, 206 00:13:05,880 --> 00:13:09,640 it's come to their attention that, Oh my goodness, the 207 00:13:09,640 --> 00:13:13,120 gospel's gone to the Gentiles, non Jews. 208 00:13:13,720 --> 00:13:18,120 They've believed in Jesus. The Holy Spirit's filled them 209 00:13:18,120 --> 00:13:21,200 just as he's filled us, but they're not not Jews. 210 00:13:21,200 --> 00:13:25,000 And so there is this struggle. How is the family of God, which 211 00:13:25,000 --> 00:13:27,400 is now made-up of Jew and Gentile? 212 00:13:28,080 --> 00:13:30,640 How are they going to unite into one family and work together 213 00:13:30,640 --> 00:13:32,960 when they come from different backgrounds, different 214 00:13:32,960 --> 00:13:35,560 traditions? What do we do about this? 215 00:13:37,120 --> 00:13:41,280 So they have a debate, they talk, they discuss in Acts 216 00:13:41,280 --> 00:13:42,640 chapter 15. Go read it. 217 00:13:42,640 --> 00:13:45,760 That's your homework where the leaders get together and they 218 00:13:45,760 --> 00:13:49,760 say, you know what God and his wisdom, he's given the gospel to 219 00:13:49,760 --> 00:13:52,080 the Gentiles. It's made clear to us now he 220 00:13:52,080 --> 00:13:55,320 desires all to be saved, both you and Gentile alike. 221 00:13:55,880 --> 00:13:59,920 So you know what, we're not going to lay the the demands of 222 00:13:59,920 --> 00:14:03,000 the law on the Gentiles, for they never received the law. 223 00:14:04,000 --> 00:14:08,240 Heck, we can't even do it. Why would I put a burden that we 224 00:14:08,240 --> 00:14:10,400 are people, the Jews, who received this law. 225 00:14:10,400 --> 00:14:13,320 We can't even fulfill it. Why would he put this burden on 226 00:14:13,480 --> 00:14:14,840 the Gentiles, these new believers? 227 00:14:15,160 --> 00:14:18,040 So they write a letter to the Gentile churches to which Paul, 228 00:14:19,800 --> 00:14:23,800 Apollos, Barnabas, Luke, you name it, they carry this letter 229 00:14:23,800 --> 00:14:26,520 to the different churches. And here's what the letter says. 230 00:14:27,040 --> 00:14:31,160 We welcome you new believers, you Gentiles, into our family. 231 00:14:31,160 --> 00:14:34,360 We want to be united with you. All we ask is that one you 232 00:14:34,360 --> 00:14:36,760 believe the gospel and do these things. 233 00:14:37,520 --> 00:14:41,800 Refrain from food offered to idols, refrain from eating what 234 00:14:41,800 --> 00:14:45,440 is strangled, refrain from eating what is drained with 235 00:14:45,560 --> 00:14:49,400 without draining the blood, and do not commit sexual immorality. 236 00:14:50,680 --> 00:14:55,920 It's interesting, these criteria that the apostles give to the 237 00:14:55,920 --> 00:14:59,720 Gentiles, these are Jewish sensitivities. 238 00:15:00,800 --> 00:15:04,040 Essentially what Paul, what the leaders of of the Jerusalem 239 00:15:04,040 --> 00:15:07,440 church are saying to the Gentile churches is as we work together, 240 00:15:07,440 --> 00:15:13,960 as we work in, in unity for the gospel message, be willing to 241 00:15:13,960 --> 00:15:19,240 sacrifice your preferences and your secondary opinions for the 242 00:15:19,240 --> 00:15:22,760 sake of the church as a whole, because the gospel's primary. 243 00:15:23,760 --> 00:15:25,400 So what unites the people of God? 244 00:15:25,400 --> 00:15:27,720 Well, it's the Gospels of first importance. 245 00:15:28,160 --> 00:15:31,960 Periphery doctrines and personal liberties, my friends, are of 246 00:15:31,960 --> 00:15:34,600 secondary importance and matters of conscience. 247 00:15:35,080 --> 00:15:39,160 So many churches, so many believers divide over what 248 00:15:39,800 --> 00:15:43,600 translation of Scripture you're using, whether you can lift your 249 00:15:43,600 --> 00:15:48,120 hands during worship, whether you gather on a Sunday or a 250 00:15:48,120 --> 00:15:51,640 Saturday or a Wednesday. It needs to be done this way, 251 00:15:51,640 --> 00:15:55,560 this way, this way. That is not the basis of unity 252 00:15:56,040 --> 00:15:57,920 in the Scripture. That's not the basis of the 253 00:15:57,920 --> 00:16:00,680 unity in the church. Those are secondary issues, 254 00:16:00,680 --> 00:16:03,560 matters of preference. That awesome. 255 00:16:03,560 --> 00:16:06,880 I'm glad God has met you there. But we need to be willing to 256 00:16:06,880 --> 00:16:10,000 sacrifice those secondary preferences for the sake of 257 00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:11,640 what's primary, and that's the gospel. 258 00:16:12,400 --> 00:16:14,680 So what this means is that we must get the gospel right. 259 00:16:14,680 --> 00:16:17,000 If that's the key, if that's what unites the people of God, 260 00:16:17,000 --> 00:16:21,120 it must be made clear. So Paul gives a three-part 261 00:16:21,120 --> 00:16:23,680 composition, a three-part foundation of what the gospel 262 00:16:23,680 --> 00:16:26,720 is. And he says this, here's what I 263 00:16:26,720 --> 00:16:29,400 delivered to your first importance, that Christ died for 264 00:16:29,400 --> 00:16:33,080 our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried 265 00:16:33,560 --> 00:16:36,840 and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the 266 00:16:36,840 --> 00:16:39,120 Scriptures. That's it. 267 00:16:40,400 --> 00:16:43,120 That's the three-part foundation of the gospel. 268 00:16:43,920 --> 00:16:48,040 There's so much more expansive benefits from that gospel. 269 00:16:48,440 --> 00:16:52,080 But if you leave believe these three points, hear me right now. 270 00:16:52,680 --> 00:16:55,760 If you believe these three points, that Jesus died for your 271 00:16:55,760 --> 00:17:00,360 sin, that he was buried, that he rose again from the grave 272 00:17:00,360 --> 00:17:03,080 bodily, guess what? You're a Christian. 273 00:17:04,200 --> 00:17:08,240 That's it. And we sit here and say, oh, but 274 00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:13,040 I mean, how can God forgive them for everything that they've 275 00:17:13,040 --> 00:17:14,160 done? How can God forgive me? 276 00:17:15,280 --> 00:17:18,000 God has never asked you to clean your life up first before you 277 00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:20,000 come to him. All he's asked to do is repent 278 00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:22,720 and believe. Believe these three points. 279 00:17:23,359 --> 00:17:25,800 Christ died. Christ was buried. 280 00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:29,640 He rose again from the dead. Here's an explanation of these 281 00:17:29,640 --> 00:17:33,640 three of each. Each part of this three-part 282 00:17:33,640 --> 00:17:36,520 composition. One, Jesus died bodily for sin. 283 00:17:36,520 --> 00:17:39,400 He dies as an offering. What he does is he lives a 284 00:17:39,400 --> 00:17:43,600 perfect life on humanity's behalf everywhere you failed 285 00:17:43,720 --> 00:17:45,080 everything you should have done right. 286 00:17:45,440 --> 00:17:49,440 Jesus does right, lives a perfect life in complete 287 00:17:49,440 --> 00:17:53,000 obedience to God. He goes to the cross and on that 288 00:17:53,000 --> 00:17:57,640 cross he dies in your place, taking your sin, your stupidity, 289 00:17:57,640 --> 00:18:00,400 my stupidity, the things that we've done over and over and 290 00:18:00,400 --> 00:18:01,840 over again are disobedience to God. 291 00:18:01,840 --> 00:18:05,680 He takes that on his back. Well in a in a great exchange 292 00:18:05,680 --> 00:18:08,640 gives us his perfect life on the cross. 293 00:18:08,640 --> 00:18:12,600 He dies in our place, taking in the judgement of God, which is 294 00:18:12,760 --> 00:18:15,320 death for the wages of sin is death. 295 00:18:15,800 --> 00:18:19,920 Jesus dies bodily on the cross for our sins. 296 00:18:21,680 --> 00:18:26,720 He was bodily buried. He physically died and he was 297 00:18:26,720 --> 00:18:30,200 physically buried in the tomb of the Jewish official Joseph of 298 00:18:30,240 --> 00:18:34,920 Arimathea Third Point, Jesus was bodily raised. 299 00:18:35,680 --> 00:18:39,000 He was bodily raised. Three days later, after he was 300 00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:41,760 buried, he physically resurrected from the dead by the 301 00:18:41,760 --> 00:18:45,240 will of the Father and in the power of the Holy Spirit. 302 00:18:46,200 --> 00:18:49,120 Why does this matter? Why does the bodily resurrection 303 00:18:49,120 --> 00:18:54,720 of Jesus matter? If you believe in these three 304 00:18:54,720 --> 00:18:58,320 essential points of the gospel and confess the risen Jesus as 305 00:18:58,320 --> 00:19:00,920 Lord, you are by definition a Christian. 306 00:19:02,600 --> 00:19:05,160 Everything else is just gravy baby. 307 00:19:06,200 --> 00:19:08,400 It's just slicing on the cake. Whatever your preferences are 308 00:19:09,400 --> 00:19:12,920 and must make way give way to these primary points. 309 00:19:14,680 --> 00:19:18,520 A principal thread that I want you to listen and and think 310 00:19:18,520 --> 00:19:21,720 about understand as we navigate the rest of the sermon. 311 00:19:21,720 --> 00:19:24,520 Here's the principal thread. I want you to understand that 312 00:19:24,520 --> 00:19:28,720 true belief, saving faith when we believe in Jesus, our lives 313 00:19:28,720 --> 00:19:32,680 are bound to him. So it brings out this principle, 314 00:19:33,600 --> 00:19:41,200 if Jesus than us, whatever is true of him becomes true of us, 315 00:19:42,480 --> 00:19:45,760 our saving faith. Romans 6 verses 3 through 4 says 316 00:19:45,760 --> 00:19:48,560 this. Paul says when you were baptized 317 00:19:48,560 --> 00:19:52,320 into Christ, you were baptized into his death and into his 318 00:19:52,320 --> 00:19:55,880 resurrection. When you believe in Him, your 319 00:19:56,120 --> 00:19:58,640 life is bound to Him. It's inseparable. 320 00:20:00,960 --> 00:20:03,920 So whatever happens of Jesus will happen to you. 321 00:20:05,200 --> 00:20:07,640 So here's Paul's argument. Here's where we're headed. 322 00:20:08,560 --> 00:20:14,560 If Jesus rose again from the dead, then by definition, you 323 00:20:14,560 --> 00:20:18,200 who believe will also rise again from the dead. 324 00:20:20,320 --> 00:20:23,240 Everything hinges upon what happens to this Jesus. 325 00:20:23,240 --> 00:20:27,200 What do you believe about him? So let's move on. 326 00:20:27,440 --> 00:20:34,720 In verses 12 through 19, Paul says, now if Christ is 327 00:20:34,720 --> 00:20:37,800 proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say 328 00:20:37,800 --> 00:20:39,480 that there is no resurrection from the dead? 329 00:20:40,120 --> 00:20:42,840 But if there is no resurrection from the dead, then not even 330 00:20:42,840 --> 00:20:45,560 Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been 331 00:20:45,560 --> 00:20:49,120 raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 332 00:20:49,920 --> 00:20:53,400 We are even found to be misrepresenting God because we 333 00:20:53,400 --> 00:20:57,080 testified about God that he raised Christ whom he did not 334 00:20:57,080 --> 00:20:58,640 raise. If it is true that the dead are 335 00:20:58,640 --> 00:21:02,040 not raised. For if the dead are not raised, 336 00:21:02,640 --> 00:21:06,400 not even Christ has been raised, and if Christ has not been 337 00:21:06,400 --> 00:21:10,920 raised, your faith is futile, and your you are still in your 338 00:21:10,920 --> 00:21:15,160 sins, then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 339 00:21:15,960 --> 00:21:20,480 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all 340 00:21:20,480 --> 00:21:23,520 people most to be pitied. So here's what's going on. 341 00:21:23,520 --> 00:21:26,040 Apparently some in the Corinthian church were peddling 342 00:21:26,040 --> 00:21:29,600 the idea that there actually is no such thing as a resurrection 343 00:21:29,600 --> 00:21:33,040 from the dead. So in response, Paul gives a 344 00:21:33,040 --> 00:21:35,160 rational defense of the resurrection. 345 00:21:35,800 --> 00:21:39,120 He's he's going to use a series of if then conditional 346 00:21:39,120 --> 00:21:41,720 statements. And his argument cuts two ways. 347 00:21:42,320 --> 00:21:46,280 If it is not true of Christ, then it's not true of us. 348 00:21:47,040 --> 00:21:50,480 And if it's not true for us, then it most certainly isn't 349 00:21:50,480 --> 00:21:54,920 true for Christ. He's a very rational, logical 350 00:21:54,920 --> 00:21:57,160 man. What's going on in the 351 00:21:57,160 --> 00:22:00,000 Corinthian church is the problem of dualism. 352 00:22:00,920 --> 00:22:03,360 Dualism. What that does is it separates 353 00:22:03,360 --> 00:22:08,360 the body, reduces it to two parts, spirit and body, spirit 354 00:22:08,680 --> 00:22:13,120 and body. There's a particular version of 355 00:22:13,120 --> 00:22:18,200 dualism that was spreading in ancient Grecian, the ancient 356 00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:21,600 Grecian Empire, and by definition the Roman Empire, 357 00:22:22,520 --> 00:22:26,080 called Platonism. You know that philosopher Plato, 358 00:22:27,560 --> 00:22:31,960 they, what is it the Sicilian from like a Princess pride calls 359 00:22:31,960 --> 00:22:34,360 him a moron. The Princess pride. 360 00:22:34,360 --> 00:22:39,480 Go watch it. That guy, the philosopher Plato, 361 00:22:40,320 --> 00:22:45,080 he had this thought, this theory that there's a difference 362 00:22:45,080 --> 00:22:48,560 between the physical world and the world of forms or ideas. 363 00:22:48,880 --> 00:22:53,280 The physical world was like a prison to your spirit and that 364 00:22:53,280 --> 00:22:56,680 when you die, you were, your spirit is released from this 365 00:22:56,680 --> 00:23:01,440 corrupt prison of the physical world and goes back to the realm 366 00:23:01,440 --> 00:23:06,280 of ideas, the perfect realm, the realm of, of, of, of, of the 367 00:23:06,280 --> 00:23:09,360 spirit. And we can see that the vestiges 368 00:23:09,360 --> 00:23:13,880 of that in our culture today, even in the church, a lot of us 369 00:23:13,960 --> 00:23:17,840 believe that when you die, you go to heaven and you're going to 370 00:23:17,840 --> 00:23:20,840 stay there. My friends, what we're going to 371 00:23:20,840 --> 00:23:23,680 talk about today, what we are talking about today, and I 372 00:23:23,680 --> 00:23:25,800 encourage you to explore in the Scripture, is that's not the 373 00:23:25,800 --> 00:23:27,480 biblical teaching of the resurrection. 374 00:23:28,960 --> 00:23:30,480 You don't live in heaven forever. 375 00:23:32,520 --> 00:23:39,160 That's the vestige, the leftovers of this idea called 376 00:23:39,160 --> 00:23:40,920 Platonism. It's not true. 377 00:23:41,320 --> 00:23:44,800 Back in their day, the apostles had to contend with a thought 378 00:23:44,800 --> 00:23:47,400 called Gnosticism. Here's what Gnosticism believe. 379 00:23:47,400 --> 00:23:50,960 There's Jewish mysticism. It was the idea that on the 380 00:23:50,960 --> 00:23:53,480 cross, the body of Jesus, it was crucified. 381 00:23:54,200 --> 00:23:57,360 He died, but his spirit returned to God. 382 00:23:58,160 --> 00:24:01,240 Again, this idea that his body is still in the ground 383 00:24:01,240 --> 00:24:03,760 somewhere, it's still in the tomb, his spirit left to the 384 00:24:03,760 --> 00:24:08,480 perfect realm with God, and he's just there forever divorcing the 385 00:24:08,480 --> 00:24:11,400 body from the spirit. You can even read in the 386 00:24:11,400 --> 00:24:15,280 Scriptures the Sadducees, one of the Jewish parties at the time, 387 00:24:15,600 --> 00:24:17,960 it says there that they didn't believe in the resurrection of 388 00:24:17,960 --> 00:24:20,080 the dead. The Pharisees did, but the 389 00:24:20,080 --> 00:24:22,760 Sadducees didn't. They believed it was symbolic or 390 00:24:22,760 --> 00:24:28,520 metaphorical, maybe a symbolic resurrection of the nation of 391 00:24:28,520 --> 00:24:31,200 Israel, but not this isn't true for every person. 392 00:24:31,200 --> 00:24:33,120 Nobody gets resurrected from the dead. 393 00:24:33,880 --> 00:24:37,520 This way of thinking leads to problems in Corinth. 394 00:24:38,240 --> 00:24:41,280 See, what we're studying is First Corinthians chapter 15, 395 00:24:41,520 --> 00:24:45,520 the 14 chapters before this. Let me tell you what Paul's 396 00:24:45,520 --> 00:24:47,080 dealing with in the Corinthian church. 397 00:24:47,600 --> 00:24:50,520 This divorce of the body and the Spirit was most likely their 398 00:24:50,520 --> 00:24:54,040 source of problems. Chapters one and three, the 399 00:24:54,040 --> 00:24:57,840 Corinthian church is forming factions over popular teachers. 400 00:24:58,840 --> 00:25:01,240 I am of Apollo's, I'm of Paul. I like that guy's preaching 401 00:25:01,240 --> 00:25:03,440 better than that guy. I like Chris's preaching better 402 00:25:03,440 --> 00:25:05,080 than Casey. I like Casey's preaching better 403 00:25:05,080 --> 00:25:06,600 than Chris. I like you name it. 404 00:25:08,240 --> 00:25:09,840 That's what's going on in chapters 1 and 3. 405 00:25:10,120 --> 00:25:14,560 Chapters 5, they're tolerating sexual immorality in the church 406 00:25:16,120 --> 00:25:19,800 where a man has his father's wife and he's sleeping with her. 407 00:25:19,800 --> 00:25:22,640 That's his mom. And they say to the world, look 408 00:25:22,640 --> 00:25:27,840 how accepting we are. Chapter 6, they're suing each 409 00:25:27,840 --> 00:25:31,560 other over church disputes, embarrassing the church before 410 00:25:31,560 --> 00:25:35,720 non believers. Chapter 8, they're stumbling 411 00:25:35,720 --> 00:25:39,880 each other's faith by arguing over food, eating food to idols 412 00:25:39,880 --> 00:25:42,160 or not. Am I allowed to eat meat? 413 00:25:42,680 --> 00:25:44,840 I saw that guy, he had a drink in his hand. 414 00:25:45,800 --> 00:25:49,240 We're not supposed to drink. I saw that guy was using the 415 00:25:49,240 --> 00:25:50,720 NIV. No it's not. 416 00:25:51,560 --> 00:25:54,600 It's not a biblical translation. NKJV only bro. 417 00:25:57,080 --> 00:26:00,080 Chapter 11. They're impartially dividing 418 00:26:00,520 --> 00:26:03,560 between the rich and the poor during the communion feast. 419 00:26:04,560 --> 00:26:09,880 The rich are eating to their fill while the poor go hungry. 420 00:26:11,600 --> 00:26:14,080 They're getting drunk at the communion feast. 421 00:26:15,080 --> 00:26:19,000 This isn't good. So Paul 14 chapters before 422 00:26:19,040 --> 00:26:21,880 chapter 15, he's dealing with these issues in the Corinthian 423 00:26:21,880 --> 00:26:24,160 church. Divorcing the body from the 424 00:26:24,160 --> 00:26:28,400 Spirit can lead to the incorrect assumption that God isn't 425 00:26:28,400 --> 00:26:30,320 concerned with what we do with our bodies. 426 00:26:31,840 --> 00:26:36,560 On the contrary, church, He does care about what we do with our 427 00:26:36,560 --> 00:26:40,000 bodies. He actually delights in the 428 00:26:40,000 --> 00:26:42,360 body. He delights in your human body. 429 00:26:43,000 --> 00:26:45,440 How do we know that while the doctrine of creation is at 430 00:26:45,440 --> 00:26:48,960 stake, guys? Gordon Fee, he's an academic 431 00:26:48,960 --> 00:26:55,280 scholar and a believer. He makes this correct statement. 432 00:26:56,440 --> 00:27:00,080 God in the beginning made humanity, embodied. 433 00:27:00,360 --> 00:27:04,720 He gave Adam and Eve a body. And what does he call it? 434 00:27:06,480 --> 00:27:10,080 Very good. This is very good. 435 00:27:11,360 --> 00:27:13,360 He doesn't say, oh, this is a mistake there. 436 00:27:13,840 --> 00:27:19,360 They're supposed to be a spirit. No, my friends, God in create in 437 00:27:19,360 --> 00:27:23,400 the created order makes man and woman in his image and he calls 438 00:27:23,400 --> 00:27:26,000 it very good. He makes them embodied. 439 00:27:26,680 --> 00:27:30,120 So as the redeemed people of God, he very much cares about 440 00:27:30,120 --> 00:27:34,400 how we live in these bodies. Romans chapter 12 verse one says 441 00:27:34,880 --> 00:27:40,120 present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to 442 00:27:40,120 --> 00:27:43,160 God. God cares about what we do with 443 00:27:43,160 --> 00:27:46,000 our bodies. We cannot divorce the spirit 444 00:27:46,000 --> 00:27:50,880 from the body. So with the remainder of our 445 00:27:50,880 --> 00:27:55,520 days in this body, God has called us to participate in the 446 00:27:55,520 --> 00:28:00,280 renewal of all creation. In the renewal of all creation. 447 00:28:00,960 --> 00:28:03,640 We're on mission here in this body. 448 00:28:03,640 --> 00:28:07,520 For you who believe we are on mission and this mission 449 00:28:07,520 --> 00:28:11,480 entails, you guessed it, preaching the gospel. 450 00:28:12,320 --> 00:28:15,720 We're on mission here to preach the gospel of that three fold 451 00:28:15,720 --> 00:28:18,800 formula that Paul said 10 verses earlier. 452 00:28:19,200 --> 00:28:21,880 Jesus lived for you, died for you, and rose for you. 453 00:28:23,040 --> 00:28:26,160 That's what we're here for. Here's what's at stake. 454 00:28:26,160 --> 00:28:30,280 Paul says if Jesus is not resurrected, remember this 455 00:28:30,280 --> 00:28:31,720 principle thread we talked about earlier? 456 00:28:31,720 --> 00:28:34,960 If Jesus, then us. If Jesus, then us, whatever is 457 00:28:34,960 --> 00:28:40,160 true of him, will be true of us. If the resurrection of the dead 458 00:28:40,160 --> 00:28:45,320 is not bodily, if it is merely symbolic or some sort of 459 00:28:45,320 --> 00:28:51,960 spiritual metaphor, then Jesus, who is fully human, he has not 460 00:28:51,960 --> 00:28:57,120 been raised from the dead. And if Jesus has not been raised 461 00:28:57,120 --> 00:29:02,920 from the dead, your sin has not been paid for and you are still 462 00:29:02,920 --> 00:29:05,400 under the curse of death, and you will face judgement. 463 00:29:06,920 --> 00:29:12,320 I will face judgement. My sin is not forgiven if he's 464 00:29:12,320 --> 00:29:17,240 still dead. Death winds and the summation of 465 00:29:17,240 --> 00:29:23,160 your life ends at about 70 years and some change if you're lucky. 466 00:29:25,080 --> 00:29:29,800 If Jesus, Paul says, is not raised from the dead, we're 467 00:29:29,800 --> 00:29:32,400 wasting our time here on a Sunday afternoon. 468 00:29:33,280 --> 00:29:35,080 We should be at the beach right now. 469 00:29:36,920 --> 00:29:39,360 Let us eat, drink and be merry, Paul says. 470 00:29:39,360 --> 00:29:44,480 For tomorrow we die. If Jesus is not raised from the 471 00:29:44,480 --> 00:29:48,520 dead, He actually says we of all people Christians, are to be 472 00:29:48,520 --> 00:29:50,640 most pitied. Why? 473 00:29:50,840 --> 00:29:53,800 Because I'm in prison, suffering for the name of Christ. 474 00:29:54,920 --> 00:29:57,440 They keep beating me up, dragging me out of town like I'm 475 00:29:57,440 --> 00:29:58,120 dead. What? 476 00:29:58,120 --> 00:30:00,600 Why am I doing this if this isn't true? 477 00:30:02,760 --> 00:30:05,520 Guys, Paul is a very rational, logical man. 478 00:30:05,520 --> 00:30:10,400 He doesn't have blind faith. He's seen the resurrected Jesus. 479 00:30:10,920 --> 00:30:15,520 He knows it to be true. That's why he's willing and even 480 00:30:15,520 --> 00:30:19,440 anticipating suffering and enduring for the sake of this 481 00:30:19,440 --> 00:30:21,160 gospel, for the sake of the risen Jesus. 482 00:30:21,760 --> 00:30:25,600 That's what's at stake if Jesus is not raised. 483 00:30:26,240 --> 00:30:28,400 You guys have better things to do on a Sunday. 484 00:30:28,400 --> 00:30:31,560 If Jesus is still dead, that's Paul's argument. 485 00:30:33,360 --> 00:30:35,200 There's hope, though. This isn't the end. 486 00:30:35,960 --> 00:30:45,040 Let's move on to verse 20. But in fact, Christ has been 487 00:30:45,040 --> 00:30:48,760 raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen 488 00:30:48,760 --> 00:30:52,480 asleep. For as by a man king, death by a 489 00:30:52,480 --> 00:30:55,080 man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 490 00:30:55,760 --> 00:31:00,200 For as an Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made 491 00:31:00,200 --> 00:31:02,760 alive, but each in his own order. 492 00:31:03,360 --> 00:31:06,960 Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to 493 00:31:06,960 --> 00:31:10,200 Christ. Then comes the end, when he 494 00:31:10,200 --> 00:31:13,720 delivers the Kingdom of God the Father to God the Father, after 495 00:31:13,720 --> 00:31:16,440 destroying every rule and every authority and power. 496 00:31:16,960 --> 00:31:20,080 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his 497 00:31:20,080 --> 00:31:23,240 feet. The last enemy to be destroyed 498 00:31:23,240 --> 00:31:26,240 is death. For God has put all things in 499 00:31:26,240 --> 00:31:30,040 subjection under his feet. Here's the hope. 500 00:31:31,280 --> 00:31:34,120 Jesus is resurrected from the dead today. 501 00:31:35,800 --> 00:31:40,800 He's physically embodied, He's got a body, and he's divinely 502 00:31:40,800 --> 00:31:45,120 exalted. He has become the first of a new 503 00:31:45,120 --> 00:31:48,480 type of human, what Paul calls the first fruits. 504 00:31:48,480 --> 00:31:52,120 Elsewhere, he'll call him the first born, your spiritual older 505 00:31:52,120 --> 00:31:56,280 brother. Just as humanity inherited death 506 00:31:56,280 --> 00:32:00,960 from Adam, humanity now inherits life from Jesus. 507 00:32:03,200 --> 00:32:05,560 Jesus has become a new representative for humanity. 508 00:32:05,880 --> 00:32:09,280 See an Adam, he sinned and disobeyed God. 509 00:32:09,520 --> 00:32:13,120 God curses him with this wages of sin called death. 510 00:32:13,440 --> 00:32:15,920 The curse is not sin, the curse is death. 511 00:32:17,160 --> 00:32:19,080 I don't know if you guys have checked the news or the 512 00:32:19,080 --> 00:32:22,760 statistics, but do you know what the the rate of death in the 513 00:32:22,760 --> 00:32:27,160 world is today? It's 100%. 514 00:32:30,320 --> 00:32:34,640 It's 100%. I hope you live to your 108 and 515 00:32:34,640 --> 00:32:39,160 get everything you've ever wanted in this life, but you're 516 00:32:39,160 --> 00:32:42,880 going to die by virtue of you being human. 517 00:32:44,040 --> 00:32:47,560 You've inherited Adam's curse. You're going to die. 518 00:32:49,480 --> 00:32:54,720 Jesus comes along, the new humanity dies for that curse, 519 00:32:55,080 --> 00:32:59,360 dies for that sin, and then resurrects from the dead and 520 00:32:59,360 --> 00:33:04,040 says I've beaten it. He becomes a new type of human 521 00:33:04,560 --> 00:33:06,960 in Jesus. He's our new representative and 522 00:33:06,960 --> 00:33:13,600 humanity inherits life eternal. Scripture says that Jesus, he 523 00:33:13,600 --> 00:33:17,520 actually holds the keys to Hades, which is the underworld 524 00:33:18,360 --> 00:33:23,240 and death. He unlocks and the door is open. 525 00:33:23,760 --> 00:33:25,840 He shuts the door and the door is closed. 526 00:33:25,840 --> 00:33:29,200 He has all authority over sin and death. 527 00:33:30,280 --> 00:33:34,800 When believers become bound to Jesus through your faith, his 528 00:33:34,800 --> 00:33:37,560 life, death, and resurrection becomes yours. 529 00:33:39,080 --> 00:33:45,480 It's yours. Because remember, as he is, so 530 00:33:45,480 --> 00:33:49,080 will we be. As he is, so will we be. 531 00:33:49,480 --> 00:33:51,800 This is the hope of the resurrection of the dead, that 532 00:33:51,920 --> 00:33:54,440 Jesus is not dead, but he's alive. 533 00:33:56,160 --> 00:34:00,320 And for you have put your faith in Jesus, you've bound your 534 00:34:00,320 --> 00:34:05,560 lives to him relationally. It is no longer I who live, Paul 535 00:34:05,560 --> 00:34:07,240 writes, but Christ who lives in me. 536 00:34:07,240 --> 00:34:10,280 Me and him are intertwined, and he's risen. 537 00:34:10,760 --> 00:34:13,639 So I know that I will rise again from the dead, no matter what 538 00:34:13,639 --> 00:34:15,840 happens to me. This isn't the end. 539 00:34:17,600 --> 00:34:22,080 Where is Paul pulling this from? He transitions to Then comes the 540 00:34:22,080 --> 00:34:27,480 end when Jesus will return and judge the living in the dead. 541 00:34:28,000 --> 00:34:29,320 Here's where Paul's pulling it from. 542 00:34:30,040 --> 00:34:32,960 He's pulling it from the Gospels from the words of Jesus himself. 543 00:34:33,840 --> 00:34:35,080 This is your homework for the week. 544 00:34:35,080 --> 00:34:37,840 John chapter 5. You don't have to turn there but 545 00:34:37,840 --> 00:34:39,480 listen up. John chapter 5. 546 00:34:39,480 --> 00:34:43,360 Jesus says this, for as the Father raises the dead and gives 547 00:34:43,360 --> 00:34:48,440 them life, so also the Son me gives life to whomever. 548 00:34:48,440 --> 00:34:54,400 I will do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when we 549 00:34:54,719 --> 00:34:59,240 who are all an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs 550 00:34:59,240 --> 00:35:04,080 will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to 551 00:35:04,080 --> 00:35:06,360 the resurrection of life, and those who have been evil to the 552 00:35:06,360 --> 00:35:09,640 resurrection of judgement. What Jesus is talking about 553 00:35:09,640 --> 00:35:13,760 there is this concept of the day of the Lord, the day of the 554 00:35:13,760 --> 00:35:17,720 Lord. One day soon when Jesus returns, 555 00:35:18,360 --> 00:35:22,120 he will use that authority that he's been given reason from the 556 00:35:22,120 --> 00:35:25,680 dead to resurrect the rest of humanity. 557 00:35:27,120 --> 00:35:29,160 On the day of the Lord two things happen. 558 00:35:30,280 --> 00:35:34,200 The resurrection of the dead, Everybody, both good and bad, 559 00:35:35,080 --> 00:35:39,200 you will live again. He will resurrect the dead. 560 00:35:39,880 --> 00:35:42,360 The second part of the day of the Lord is called the 561 00:35:42,360 --> 00:35:46,400 judgement. The judgement of the wicked and 562 00:35:46,400 --> 00:35:50,680 the vindication of the righteous King Jesus with that authority 563 00:35:50,680 --> 00:35:54,000 that is had He has will sit enthroned in the judgement of 564 00:35:54,000 --> 00:35:56,960 humanity. Those who have believed in the 565 00:35:56,960 --> 00:35:59,360 gospel remember that threefold message. 566 00:35:59,640 --> 00:36:02,320 Those who have believed in the gospel and have confessed him as 567 00:36:02,320 --> 00:36:09,000 Lord will live forever. But those who have rejected that 568 00:36:09,000 --> 00:36:13,680 gospel, the threefold message and have not acknowledged Jesus 569 00:36:13,680 --> 00:36:19,520 Lord will be destroyed. For you who don't believe today, 570 00:36:21,320 --> 00:36:26,080 I'm very sorry, but by virtue of you hearing my voice, you are 571 00:36:26,080 --> 00:36:27,920 not held accountable for this message. 572 00:36:30,080 --> 00:36:32,720 God brought you here today to hear it because He loves you and 573 00:36:32,720 --> 00:36:38,320 He wants you to believe. King Jesus will judge the living 574 00:36:38,320 --> 00:36:41,720 and the dead, and he will resurrect those who died with 575 00:36:41,720 --> 00:36:43,880 this hope of being with Him forever. 576 00:36:46,160 --> 00:36:47,640 So what's this do in Paul's life? 577 00:36:47,640 --> 00:36:49,800 What is this hope of the resurrection do for Paul? 578 00:36:50,640 --> 00:36:55,200 Well, Philippians chapter 3 verses 7 through 11, Paul writes 579 00:36:55,200 --> 00:36:58,200 this. Whatever gain I had, I count as 580 00:36:58,200 --> 00:37:02,600 lost for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as 581 00:37:02,600 --> 00:37:05,760 lost because of the surpassing worth of knowing Jesus Christ my 582 00:37:05,760 --> 00:37:09,160 Lord for His sake. I have suffered the loss of all 583 00:37:09,160 --> 00:37:13,120 things and count them as rubbish in order that I may gain Christ 584 00:37:13,400 --> 00:37:16,120 and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that 585 00:37:16,120 --> 00:37:19,400 comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in 586 00:37:19,400 --> 00:37:24,320 Christ, the righteousness of God that depends on faith that I may 587 00:37:24,320 --> 00:37:29,560 know Him and the power of His resurrection and may share in 588 00:37:29,560 --> 00:37:32,240 His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death. 589 00:37:32,280 --> 00:37:37,880 Here's the kicker, verse 11. That by any means possible I may 590 00:37:37,880 --> 00:37:39,440 attain the resurrection from the dead. 591 00:37:41,240 --> 00:37:43,400 It's been there in scripture the whole time. 592 00:37:43,400 --> 00:37:45,880 What motivates Paul for radical ministry? 593 00:37:47,520 --> 00:37:52,040 His hope to attain the resurrection of the dead, the 594 00:37:52,040 --> 00:37:56,400 anticipation for Paul of eternal life, enables him to endure 595 00:37:56,400 --> 00:37:59,160 suffering and eventually death for the sake of Jesus. 596 00:37:59,920 --> 00:38:03,360 He's sincerely believed that death is not the end, but a 597 00:38:03,360 --> 00:38:08,040 power that had been dishoned by the exalted, risen Jesus. 598 00:38:10,240 --> 00:38:12,160 You want radical ministry in your life? 599 00:38:14,200 --> 00:38:16,160 The key is the hope of the resurrection of the dead. 600 00:38:16,160 --> 00:38:18,000 I don't care what happens to me in this body. 601 00:38:19,080 --> 00:38:22,280 I believe something's coming. You see, Paul's driven by this 602 00:38:22,280 --> 00:38:24,000 hope. Here's some examples. 603 00:38:24,000 --> 00:38:29,200 In the book of Acts, his Co worker Luke is documenting this 604 00:38:29,200 --> 00:38:33,360 biography of Paul's missionary journey, Acts 17. 605 00:38:33,680 --> 00:38:36,200 Paul is in the Areopagus debating with Greek 606 00:38:36,200 --> 00:38:38,720 philosophers. They're listening to him good. 607 00:38:38,720 --> 00:38:41,000 They're going back and forth. They're talking about Jewish 608 00:38:41,000 --> 00:38:43,200 law. They're talking about what it 609 00:38:43,200 --> 00:38:45,480 means to be good. Who's bad. 610 00:38:46,040 --> 00:38:48,440 All of a sudden they ridicule him when he gets to one point. 611 00:38:49,920 --> 00:38:54,760 The resurrection of the dead, they go, the resurrection of the 612 00:38:54,760 --> 00:38:57,240 dead. You don't understand, Paul. 613 00:38:57,920 --> 00:38:59,680 The body dies and the spirit is released. 614 00:38:59,680 --> 00:39:02,080 The spirit's free. Paul goes, no, the resurrection 615 00:39:02,080 --> 00:39:03,720 of the dead. They listen to him up to that 616 00:39:03,720 --> 00:39:05,120 point. Acts 24. 617 00:39:05,720 --> 00:39:10,800 Paul's in chains at an illicit trial, like Jesus before Roman 618 00:39:10,800 --> 00:39:15,480 governors Festus and Felix for the resurrection of the dead. 619 00:39:16,080 --> 00:39:18,520 Acts 26. Paul's on trial before King 620 00:39:18,520 --> 00:39:22,720 Agrippa and he says, O King Agrippa, I have done nothing 621 00:39:22,720 --> 00:39:25,640 wrong. Let me tell you this, Acts 24, 622 00:39:25,640 --> 00:39:29,560 verse 21, he says it is respect to the resurrection of the dead 623 00:39:29,560 --> 00:39:33,400 that I'm on trial before you today because of my belief in 624 00:39:33,400 --> 00:39:36,320 the resurrection of the dead, that life is in Jesus alone. 625 00:39:36,600 --> 00:39:38,000 I'm on trial before you right now. 626 00:39:40,520 --> 00:39:43,800 People were dumbfounded and shocked that this guy really 627 00:39:43,800 --> 00:39:45,600 believed that the dead would rise again. 628 00:39:47,720 --> 00:39:49,560 But this is the biblical hope of the scriptures. 629 00:39:50,880 --> 00:39:53,520 This hope would actually end up costing Paul his life as he 630 00:39:53,520 --> 00:39:55,920 appeals to the Roman emperor Caesar. 631 00:39:58,640 --> 00:40:01,640 Church history tells us that he makes it to Rome, lives 632 00:40:01,640 --> 00:40:05,720 throughout the rest of his days in house to rest before he's 633 00:40:05,720 --> 00:40:13,680 beheaded for the sake of Jesus. My friends, family, Bridgetown. 634 00:40:14,000 --> 00:40:17,120 When we remember that the day of the Lord is quickly approaching. 635 00:40:17,720 --> 00:40:20,080 And with it, the resurrection of the dead. 636 00:40:20,920 --> 00:40:25,120 Our days take on new meaning. They take on new meaning. 637 00:40:27,400 --> 00:40:34,440 Paul's response to Corinth in chapter 6, when he criticizes 638 00:40:34,440 --> 00:40:40,080 them, when he chastises them for the lawsuits, for suing each 639 00:40:40,080 --> 00:40:43,080 other over trivial church relationships. 640 00:40:43,560 --> 00:40:46,240 Paul's response to them is this. He says they're in chapter 6. 641 00:40:46,720 --> 00:40:49,200 Don't you know that you're going to inherit the world? 642 00:40:51,400 --> 00:40:53,840 Don't you know that you're going to judge angels? 643 00:40:55,800 --> 00:41:00,600 Guys, this is small potatoes. Just say you're sorry to one 644 00:41:00,600 --> 00:41:04,680 another and love each other. Cultivate a greater vision for 645 00:41:04,680 --> 00:41:09,040 your lives, not just the temporary, but focus on the 646 00:41:09,040 --> 00:41:12,080 eternal. When we do that, when we have 647 00:41:12,080 --> 00:41:14,920 this hope of the resurrection of the dead, the day of the Lord 648 00:41:15,160 --> 00:41:21,120 approaching, we can leave empire building behind, anxiety about 649 00:41:21,120 --> 00:41:22,600 the future, what's going to happen to you? 650 00:41:22,600 --> 00:41:24,440 What's going to happen to America, What's going to happen 651 00:41:24,440 --> 00:41:30,080 to the world? The fear of death can be left 652 00:41:30,080 --> 00:41:32,320 behind. You ever stop to wonder when you 653 00:41:32,320 --> 00:41:35,280 read about these people martyred for the sake of Jesus in the 654 00:41:35,280 --> 00:41:37,200 Scriptures and then even in the world today? 655 00:41:38,880 --> 00:41:42,600 I sit there and I think, God, how could they do that? 656 00:41:42,680 --> 00:41:46,160 I don't have that right now. How can they sit there in the 657 00:41:46,160 --> 00:41:50,920 face of persecution, make a stand and say kill me? 658 00:41:52,800 --> 00:41:55,120 It's because of this hope of the resurrection of the dead. 659 00:41:55,960 --> 00:41:59,200 May God move me. May God move us to that place 660 00:41:59,200 --> 00:42:02,680 with the greater vision of the resurrection of the dead, the 661 00:42:02,680 --> 00:42:07,160 hope that is to come so that it dispels any fear of what happens 662 00:42:07,160 --> 00:42:12,680 to me here. Later on in that same chapter, 663 00:42:12,680 --> 00:42:16,880 Philippians chapter 3, verse 20, Paul says this. 664 00:42:17,520 --> 00:42:21,960 But our citizenship is in heaven and from it we await A Savior, 665 00:42:22,000 --> 00:42:26,960 the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be 666 00:42:26,960 --> 00:42:31,000 like his glorious body by the power that enables Him to 667 00:42:31,000 --> 00:42:37,520 subject all things to himself. Paul talks about this idea of 668 00:42:37,520 --> 00:42:40,480 citizenship. Citizenship. 669 00:42:42,160 --> 00:42:45,920 This is probably the most polarizing and anxiety inducing 670 00:42:45,920 --> 00:42:49,720 social issue today, especially locally here in Southern 671 00:42:49,720 --> 00:42:55,880 California. Believer, hear the word of the 672 00:42:55,880 --> 00:43:00,560 Lord regarding your citizenship. You belong to heaven. 673 00:43:03,640 --> 00:43:06,560 I don't know how else to be clear, you belong to heaven. 674 00:43:08,840 --> 00:43:13,000 You don't belong here. You're not home yet. 675 00:43:14,560 --> 00:43:18,640 I'm not home yet. We are on exile. 676 00:43:18,640 --> 00:43:23,040 We are on mission here as we await the return of the Lord. 677 00:43:24,040 --> 00:43:26,200 Your citizenship, Paul says, is in heaven. 678 00:43:26,440 --> 00:43:30,280 Why is it in heaven? Because you're bound to him 679 00:43:30,360 --> 00:43:32,560 through faith. Where is he right now? 680 00:43:35,200 --> 00:43:37,440 In heaven? Seated at the right hand of the 681 00:43:37,440 --> 00:43:39,760 Father. That's Paul's argument is 682 00:43:39,760 --> 00:43:40,800 logical. It's rational. 683 00:43:40,800 --> 00:43:43,880 It's reasonable your citizenship is in heaven because that's 684 00:43:43,880 --> 00:43:46,160 where crisis. Listen to the Faith Life Study 685 00:43:46,160 --> 00:43:48,440 Bible note regarding this passage. 686 00:43:49,800 --> 00:43:52,640 It says Roman citizenship was highly prized. 687 00:43:52,640 --> 00:43:57,160 Does it sound familiar? Roman citizenship was highly 688 00:43:57,160 --> 00:44:01,440 prized, but Paul encourages believers to embrace a far 689 00:44:01,440 --> 00:44:03,520 better identity as citizens of God's Kingdom. 690 00:44:05,280 --> 00:44:08,480 Most residents of Philippi probably lacked Roman 691 00:44:08,480 --> 00:44:10,480 citizenship because they were poor. 692 00:44:11,720 --> 00:44:15,240 For any believers who did hold Roman citizenship, Paul's 693 00:44:15,240 --> 00:44:18,720 statement here represents a challenge to look beyond their 694 00:44:18,720 --> 00:44:22,760 earthly status and show highest allegiance to Christ. 695 00:44:25,160 --> 00:44:31,160 This is why Peter, the Apostle Paul's cohort, he says, live 696 00:44:31,160 --> 00:44:33,720 righteously throughout the time of your exile. 697 00:44:34,160 --> 00:44:37,520 He's going to use this term in his letters over and over again. 698 00:44:37,560 --> 00:44:39,680 The time of your exile, the dispersion, your exile, your 699 00:44:39,680 --> 00:44:41,440 exile. You're sojourning, you're 700 00:44:41,440 --> 00:44:44,680 strangers, you're aliens, you don't belong here. 701 00:44:45,240 --> 00:44:47,800 Our hope is in heaven where Christ is, and he will return 702 00:44:47,800 --> 00:44:51,960 one day. You ever wander in the garden 703 00:44:51,960 --> 00:44:54,400 after Jesus rose from the dead? We have this scene in the 704 00:44:54,400 --> 00:44:57,840 Gospels of Mary weeping at the tomb of Jesus. 705 00:44:59,200 --> 00:45:02,520 She turns around and hears a voice, and she interprets it to 706 00:45:02,520 --> 00:45:07,600 be the gardener. And she says, Sir, tell me where 707 00:45:07,600 --> 00:45:09,280 you've taken him. The tomb is empty. 708 00:45:09,280 --> 00:45:11,840 Tell me where you've taken his body, please. 709 00:45:12,800 --> 00:45:14,760 Jesus responds in his loving tone. 710 00:45:15,440 --> 00:45:23,200 Mary, Mary, she immediately knows it's him through tear 711 00:45:23,200 --> 00:45:25,680 stained eyes. She gets up off the ground. 712 00:45:26,040 --> 00:45:30,080 She grabs a hold of him. Have you ever wondered why Jesus 713 00:45:30,080 --> 00:45:32,840 says this? Mary, don't cling to me yet. 714 00:45:35,720 --> 00:45:37,920 I don't get Laura, I thought you're welcome to everybody. 715 00:45:38,640 --> 00:45:40,440 Why did you say don't cling to me yet? 716 00:45:41,640 --> 00:45:45,240 Well, because it's not over. Something has to happen first. 717 00:45:45,240 --> 00:45:48,400 This is one part of the gospel that we often overlook, but it's 718 00:45:48,400 --> 00:45:52,400 probably one of the most powerful moments, the ascension, 719 00:45:54,440 --> 00:45:59,280 the ascension to heaven. Jesus tells Mary, don't cling to 720 00:45:59,280 --> 00:46:02,960 me yet because I must ascend to my Father and your father. 721 00:46:04,280 --> 00:46:06,320 Why? So that your citizenship can be 722 00:46:06,320 --> 00:46:08,400 in heaven. Do you know what Jesus is doing 723 00:46:08,400 --> 00:46:11,600 right now? It says he's exalted as that new 724 00:46:11,600 --> 00:46:16,320 type of human, divine human with a spiritual body. 725 00:46:16,640 --> 00:46:23,160 He sits enthroned as King and the only time he stands is to 726 00:46:23,160 --> 00:46:28,160 intercede for you as priest again. 727 00:46:28,440 --> 00:46:31,920 Whatever is true of Jesus is true for you and I. 728 00:46:32,800 --> 00:46:38,400 So where is he now in heaven, enthroned, my friends, church 729 00:46:38,560 --> 00:46:42,560 men and women, believers, your citizenship is with him. 730 00:46:43,120 --> 00:46:46,440 And at his return, at that day of the Lord, he will resurrect 731 00:46:46,440 --> 00:46:49,800 your body and it will be like his. 732 00:46:51,360 --> 00:46:58,440 A little aside as we're about to wrap up the rest of chapter 15 733 00:46:58,440 --> 00:47:01,600 is your homework. Go read it throughout this week. 734 00:47:02,040 --> 00:47:06,600 This is the greatest portion of scripture on what the nature of 735 00:47:06,600 --> 00:47:10,200 the resurrection body is like. So what is it like? 736 00:47:10,200 --> 00:47:14,520 How are the dead raised? Well, my friends, are heavenly 737 00:47:14,520 --> 00:47:16,840 citizenship. It's not naturalized. 738 00:47:17,920 --> 00:47:21,680 We must be transformed to inhabit the age to come when 739 00:47:21,800 --> 00:47:26,240 earth and heaven unite. We're not disembodied spirits 740 00:47:26,240 --> 00:47:28,280 floating around. We're not chubby little cherubs 741 00:47:28,320 --> 00:47:32,640 on clouds. No, the resurrection body is a 742 00:47:32,640 --> 00:47:37,560 completely new kind of spiritual body and it's not the perfect 743 00:47:37,560 --> 00:47:41,520 you. The resurrection body is not you 744 00:47:41,960 --> 00:47:45,840 at your healthiest. That's your peak here where you 745 00:47:45,840 --> 00:47:48,480 are 100% healthy. If you had taken all the 746 00:47:48,480 --> 00:47:52,960 vitamins, exercise, day of your life, I would have been 100% 747 00:47:52,960 --> 00:47:54,960 healthy. No, my friends, that's not the 748 00:47:54,960 --> 00:47:58,760 resurrection body. It's more as well than character 749 00:47:58,760 --> 00:48:01,720 transformation. A lot of people like to think 750 00:48:01,720 --> 00:48:04,440 that the resurrection body, it's, well, moral purity. 751 00:48:04,440 --> 00:48:06,920 When I get there, my sin, my sin is gone. 752 00:48:06,920 --> 00:48:11,600 I'm sinless. I'm consciously righteous. 753 00:48:13,440 --> 00:48:17,160 It's more than that. The heavenly body, Paul says in 754 00:48:17,160 --> 00:48:20,520 First Corinthians 15, is divinely human. 755 00:48:21,960 --> 00:48:25,000 It's a spiritual body, meaning it's physical. 756 00:48:26,560 --> 00:48:30,280 It's a body of glory according to Scripture, and the best 757 00:48:30,280 --> 00:48:34,840 example we have of this is the resurrected Jesus himself. 758 00:48:36,440 --> 00:48:39,080 Paul writes. He was seen by the 12. 759 00:48:39,680 --> 00:48:42,120 He was seen by 500 people at one point. 760 00:48:42,840 --> 00:48:47,440 We visited him 40 days after he resurrected from the dead. 761 00:48:48,000 --> 00:48:50,760 He's able to appear in rooms and then just disappear. 762 00:48:52,280 --> 00:48:54,800 People recognize him, but they don't. 763 00:48:55,800 --> 00:48:59,320 He's different. This spiritual body is immortal. 764 00:48:59,880 --> 00:49:04,080 It's incorruptible. So whatever your theological 765 00:49:04,080 --> 00:49:07,160 tradition calls it, whether it's glorification, deification, 766 00:49:07,160 --> 00:49:12,560 theosis, we must understand it is a body of glory that is both 767 00:49:12,560 --> 00:49:15,880 human and divine, and it is yours. 768 00:49:17,920 --> 00:49:22,200 It is your future for you who believe in Jesus because 769 00:49:22,200 --> 00:49:25,960 whatever is true of Jesus becomes true of you. 770 00:49:28,320 --> 00:49:30,680 Now, what do we do with this an application? 771 00:49:32,320 --> 00:49:34,720 I understand that all of this sounds idyllic. 772 00:49:35,440 --> 00:49:40,160 I'm not naive to that. Many of you are sitting here in 773 00:49:40,160 --> 00:49:42,240 your mind. Maybe you're thinking, I get 774 00:49:42,240 --> 00:49:43,240 that. That's great, That's great. 775 00:49:43,240 --> 00:49:45,560 But you don't understand what I'm going through right now. 776 00:49:47,880 --> 00:49:50,000 It's been very tough. It's been very rough. 777 00:49:51,840 --> 00:49:54,960 Listen to Pastor Dave Lomas of Reality San Francisco talk about 778 00:49:54,960 --> 00:49:59,080 biblical hope. Biblical hope looks square at 779 00:49:59,080 --> 00:50:01,560 reality as it shows itself on the daily. 780 00:50:02,280 --> 00:50:05,640 It looks at all the facts and then looks at God's promise. 781 00:50:06,480 --> 00:50:10,880 Then, without denying the facts or turning away from reality, it 782 00:50:10,880 --> 00:50:14,040 lives out a vision of life based on God's promise. 783 00:50:15,280 --> 00:50:18,720 It is a vision of life that guides itself by faith in God's 784 00:50:18,720 --> 00:50:23,960 promise, irrespective of whether the situation looks optimistic 785 00:50:24,400 --> 00:50:28,920 or pessimistic. Biblical hope doesn't deny the 786 00:50:28,920 --> 00:50:33,320 pain in this body. Biblical hope doesn't deny the 787 00:50:33,320 --> 00:50:36,600 frustration and the hurt that you're experiencing the sorrow. 788 00:50:40,360 --> 00:50:44,920 Biblical hope looks square at reality, and then it looks at 789 00:50:44,920 --> 00:50:49,360 God's promise. I will resurrect you from the 790 00:50:49,360 --> 00:50:52,240 dead. I will. 791 00:50:54,320 --> 00:50:56,000 So are you physically sick today? 792 00:50:57,880 --> 00:51:02,560 Are you physically tired? Are you physically sick and 793 00:51:02,560 --> 00:51:04,280 tired? Frustrated. 794 00:51:05,880 --> 00:51:10,560 Maybe you're emotionally broken. Maybe you're emotionally 795 00:51:10,560 --> 00:51:12,360 detached where you don't feel anything at all. 796 00:51:15,160 --> 00:51:20,440 Are you mentally exhausted, overcome with anxiety about what 797 00:51:20,440 --> 00:51:27,400 the future holds are for you? With Paul in Romans 8, he 798 00:51:27,400 --> 00:51:30,320 writes, We've grown in this body awaiting our redemption. 799 00:51:31,080 --> 00:51:33,480 We've grown in this body awaiting the new life. 800 00:51:35,520 --> 00:51:41,120 Church, you're not home yet, but God promises you that one day 801 00:51:41,560 --> 00:51:45,520 there will be a grand homecoming at the day of the Lord, where 802 00:51:45,520 --> 00:51:50,680 the dead in Christ will rise and we who are still here will be 803 00:51:50,680 --> 00:51:56,200 transformed into a new body like Jesus, and we will see him as he 804 00:51:56,200 --> 00:52:00,320 is. So let's have a perspective 805 00:52:00,320 --> 00:52:03,880 shift. My, my friends, we are in the 806 00:52:03,880 --> 00:52:07,760 world, but we're not of it. We're on mission to preach, 807 00:52:07,760 --> 00:52:15,720 teach, and disciple the gospel to those who would hear What 808 00:52:15,720 --> 00:52:17,920 this tells us. What the resurrection, 809 00:52:18,000 --> 00:52:22,360 resurrection of the dead tells this church is that it's never 810 00:52:22,360 --> 00:52:26,440 hopeless. It's never hopeless. 811 00:52:27,120 --> 00:52:32,600 John 1125 Jesus, the tomb of Lazarus, speaks to Mary and 812 00:52:32,600 --> 00:52:37,680 Martha, his sisters, and he says to them, Your brother will rise 813 00:52:37,680 --> 00:52:41,160 again. I am the resurrection and the 814 00:52:41,160 --> 00:52:44,360 life. Whoever believes in me, though 815 00:52:44,360 --> 00:52:49,000 he die, he will live. And everyone who lives and 816 00:52:49,000 --> 00:52:53,560 believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this? 817 00:52:56,440 --> 00:52:58,000 The Christian life is never hopeless. 818 00:52:58,320 --> 00:53:01,800 If God can raise the dead Christ to life, he can raise anybody to 819 00:53:01,800 --> 00:53:04,520 life again. And that's you that you 820 00:53:04,520 --> 00:53:07,240 included. We hope you. 821 00:53:07,240 --> 00:53:09,400 Enjoyed this message? And we'd love for you to join us 822 00:53:09,400 --> 00:53:11,560 in person every Sunday at 10:30 AM. 823 00:53:11,960 --> 00:53:13,960 For more information and updates, visit 824 00:53:13,960 --> 00:53:16,600 wearebridgetown.com. Thanks for tuning in and we'll 825 00:53:16,600 --> 00:53:17,440 see you next week.