Latest / Living Waters of Grace / Calvary Chapel of Westmoreland Sunday Services / 1 Corinthians 15:20-34 - Real Life Comes by Resurrection

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1 Corinthians 15:20-34 - Real Life Comes by Resurrection · Living Waters of Grace / Calvary Chapel of Westmoreland Sunday Services

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Good morning. So who, who here needs Jesus
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today? That's why we're here, right?
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It's all about him and him feeding us his word and
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encouraging us by the power of the Holy Spirit.
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So we're taking our time going through.
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Good to see you. How's your foot?
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Not kicking any field goals yet. Right now you know Lydia.
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Lydia broke her foot on ice so her and Cindy are boot buddies.
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Cindy's got a boot on too still. So keep Cindy in your prayers.
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She's still dealing with a lot of pain and she was hoping to be
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here today but too too much pain.
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So going to get another MRI on February 2nd to see if there
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might be some issues in her neck are causing the nerves to be
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impeded down through her leg and sciatica.
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So thank you for your prayers for her.
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You know, I, I'm in this section on the resurrection and I can't
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seem to get out of it. Usually I go through a chapter
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and I get through it pretty quickly.
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But this, the resurrection chapter, there's so much depth,
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There's so much life, There's so much hope and, and future for
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all of us. And lots of times you don't
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think about needing to be raised again from the dead when you're
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young. But the older you get, the more
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you realize this is an important teaching.
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So if you're under 20 today, you might think, what's this have to
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do with me? I got my whole life ahead of me.
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Well, there's young people that get sick and pass away too.
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So it impacts all of us. This before I get started.
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The Calvary Chapel magazine is available talking about the
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pro-life and saving the unborn. Really good articles in here.
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Also wonderful article on here about Charlie Kirk's passing and
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how he impacted Calvary Chapel pastors and what's happening on
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college campuses as a result of Charlie's life and his legacy.
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That continues. A matter of fact tonight, the
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Calvary Chapel, Philadelphia, the church that we were planted
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out of 30 years ago Sunday night, they're having Rob McCoy,
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the number two guy that started the Turning Point with Charlie
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back in the beginning. So he's going to speak in the
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church tonight about the impact that turning point USA faith has
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upon college campuses and high schools and continues to keep
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growing and growing and growing. So we're, we're excited to be a
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part of that, involved in that as well.
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So let's pray, Father, we're thankful this morning, Lord, for
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your word. And Lord, I'm so grateful that
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we are here for one reason. And that's to hear from you,
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Lord, to get truth, to get fed your word, to be encouraged to,
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to learn, to have hope and not to spare.
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And also, Lord, to be impacted by what you've done for us so
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that we can also be used by you to impact others.
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So that they can know the good news and how you saved us and
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how you've forgiven us. And how you've continually been
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with us throughout all the seasons of life.
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The ups and downs, the valleys, the mountaintops, the the times
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of victory, the times of defeat, the times of health, the times
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of sickness. Lord, you've, you've just been
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there all the time and you never leave us.
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You never forsake us and you're always available for us to talk
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to throughout the day 24/7. Lord, you're never too busy to
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listen to each of us simultaneously.
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That's something that I can't even begin to comprehend, how
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you can listen to all the cries, all the heartache, all the
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prayers, all the needs of the human race all over the world at
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one time because you're God, omniscient on all knowing.
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You're all everywhere, present, omnipresent, and you're able to
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do the ultimate multitask of being intimately involved with
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every human being on the face of the planet.
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And we worship you because you're such a great and mighty
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and awesome God. And Lord, help us to understand
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again this morning the significance of the resurrection
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as we review it again and then continually on in this chapter
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that we might understand what it is that you want us to know.
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And we pray these things in Jesus name, Amen.
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So I want to read the the tremendous verses that encourage
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us in regard to the resurrection and why it's really, really
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important to grasp this truth. Because if we don't know the
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resurrection and we don't believe that, then there's
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really no point in actually even coming to church or believing in
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Jesus. Because the whole gospel hinges
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on the fact that there is life after death.
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And we have the guarantee and the assurance and a historical
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documentation that Christ literally rose again from the
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dead. He's the only one that's ever
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done that in human history. And so if you're going to be a
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follower of some movement or some person, you want to make
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sure that you're following Jesus because he's the true God, the
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living God, the one who created us and the one who has good
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things in store for all of us. And so when we think about this
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truth of the resurrection and all that Christ has done, I want
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to read again when I've read the last couple weeks regarding
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Lazarus, when he died and Jesus showed up a few days after his
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death, verse 17 of Luke chapter or John Chapter 11, it says.
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And so when Jesus came, he found that he had already been in the
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tomb for days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem,
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about two miles away, and many of the Jews had joined the women
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around Martha and Mary to comfort them concerning their
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brother. So I don't have to tell you all
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of you have been around. I'm sure long enough you've been
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to funerals, you've been to situations where people have
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passed away and your heart's broken, and you know what it's
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like to lose someone you love that you won't see again until
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heaven if they're believers and you're a believer.
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And so Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, she
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went and met him. But Mary was sitting in the
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house now. Martha said to Jesus, Lord, if
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you had been here, my brother would not have died.
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But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God
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will give you. So Martha knew that Jesus could
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do miracles, and her trust was in him to perhaps do a miracle.
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And Jesus said to her, Your brother will rise again.
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And Martha said to him, I know that he will rise again in the
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resurrection at the last day. So this woman knew about the
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resurrection, she believed in it, she knew it was true, she
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knew it was going to happen. That wasn't the issue.
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The issue was her heartache right now and the fact that she
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lost this dear person in her life.
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And so Jesus is standing there with her and totally involved in
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her emotions and her pain. And he said to her, I am the
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resurrection and the life. It isn't of some future thing
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that will occur one day. Right now you can experience the
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reality of this life eternal. We said I am the resurrection
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and the life I am as a present verb tense.
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He who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live.
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And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die.
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Do you believe this? And that's something that each
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of us have to believe individually and personally.
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I can't believe for you, and you can't believe for me.
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This has to be between you and God and you and God alone.
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Do you believe this? And she said to him, yes, Lord,
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I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God who has
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come into the world. So that's the right answer that
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Martha gave to Jesus. Yes, Lord, I believe that you
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are the Christ, the Son of God who has come into the world.
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That's the affirmation that each of us have to make individually
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and personally in order to experience this promise of
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everlasting life in the resurrection and forgiveness of
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sins. I love Gina's prayer in the end
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of the worship when she said that if you think that you sin
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too much or you've done too many bad things that you could never
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be forgiven, that's the ultimate lie from the devil.
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Jesus came to die for sinners, which we all are, and he loves
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us. And so we come to him by faith,
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asking him to forgive us and trust him, and he will forgive
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us. And then in John also the 14th
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chapter, this is a verse that we as pastors use all the time at
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funerals. It says, let not your heart be
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troubled the day some of you may be troubled about something or
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someone or some circumstance or situation in your life that's
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overwhelming. I know a lot of people are
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dealing with serious health issues and surgeries and
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different relationship issues and financial issues and this on
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and on and on. There isn't one person in here
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today that isn't dealing with something personally that's
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troubling you or something that someone else is dealing with
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that you're concerned for because they're troubled with
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something. And so he says, don't let your
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heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also
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in me. In my Father's house are many
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mansions. And if it were not so, I would
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have told you. And I go to prepare a place for
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you. And if I go to prepare a place
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for you, I will come again and receive you to myself, that
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where I am, there you may be also.
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And where I go, you know, and the way you know.
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So Jesus is telling the disciples and all of us who are
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reading this and here today, anybody that reads the
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Scriptures, this is for you if you're a follower of Christ,
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that the Lord has a plan for you and he specifically prepared a
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place for you to be with him whenever you leave this world.
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He's already set it up for you. It's already built and ready for
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you to experience and to live in for all eternity.
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And he promises that we won't be left here alone, that one day he
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will come again and receive us to himself, whether it's in our
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own personal death or in the rapture or the second coming of
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Christ. Christ is coming again.
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And he's telling these guys who you, you know about this.
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You know where who I am, where I'm going.
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And Thomas, the one who doubted said, Lord, we don't know where
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you're going and how can we know the way?
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And Jesus said I, I am the way people are looking every day for
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an answer. They're looking for direction.
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They're looking for what's going to happen to me, What's going to
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happen to me after I leave this world?
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Where am I going to go? What's going to go on in the
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next World if there is a next World?
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People think that way. He says I am the way I am the
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truth. I am the life.
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No man comes to the Father, but through Me.
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You can hang out on that verse for every circumstance in your
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life. When you're confused, when you
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become hopeless, when you're in situations where you are
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desperate for some type of answer to the dilemma or the
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problem you're experiencing, you can go to Jesus and He will
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comfort you. He will speak to you through his
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word and through the Holy Spirit in your life.
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And he will assure you that everything's under control, that
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he has it all planned out and that he is the one, the only one
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that can give you real life. There.
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There is no life apart from Christ.
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You might be living and you think, well, I'm living life.
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I'm alive. I'm yeah.
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But when you get to the end of the day, you say, is this all
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there is to life? If this is life, why do I feel
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so dead inside? Why do I feel so empty?
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Why do I still feel like I'm missing something and I don't
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know what it is I'm looking for? It's because you're looking for
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life in what can't give you life.
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Jesus says man's life does not consist in the abundance of the
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things he possesses. It isn't a materialism or wealth
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or success or accomplishments or another person.
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You may find it very important in your life.
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Your life is found only in the person of knowing Jesus Christ.
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And he says no one can come to the Father except through him.
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What happens to us when we die? This is a mystery for most
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people that have ever lived. Scholars, philosophers,
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scientists, they all have different types of positions or
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opinions on what happens to the soul after death.
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Some people think that when you die, that's it, It's the end.
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There's nothing else to look forward to.
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But for us as Christians, we have so much to look forward to.
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And people will come and ask me at times whenever they lose a
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loved one or they're getting ready to lose someone they love.
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What's going to happen to my dad or my mom or my brother or my
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sister or my wife, my husband, my child, whatever my friend,
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What's going to happen to them after they die?
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Well, if they don't know the gospel and what we're studying
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about the resurrection, that's a rough place to be in, isn't it?
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It's a place of despair and a place of hopelessness.
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But we're we're told that the Lord has promised us that
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whenever we leave this body, and the apostle Paul, the one who's
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teaching us and First Corinthians here, is that
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there's a plan in all this deterioration of human life in
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existence. He says in 2nd Corinthians 5 For
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we know that if our earthly house, that's its body, we live
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in this tent is destroyed, whether through death, through
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accident, through disease, or this old age, we have a building
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from God, a house not made with hands eternal in the heavens.
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And that's the place where he said in my Father's house are
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many mansions. And if it were not so, I would
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have told you. And if I told you I'd go to
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prepare a place for you, that where I am you, maybe also
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there's another place you're going to be living other than
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this, because this is going to deteriorate and go into the
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ground. For in this we groan earnestly,
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desiring to be clothed with our habitation, which is from
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heaven, if indeed having been clothed, we shall not be found
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naked. For we who are in this tent,
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grown, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed,
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but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by
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life. So the plan of God is to
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eventually remove us physically from this place through a lot of
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different events. Like I said, it could be
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physical death, it could be the rapture for alive when Christ
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comes. We'll talk about that a little
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bit today, the second coming, the final resurrection.
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But there is this impulse and it's not fatalism for us to want
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to be with Jesus in heaven. That's the ultimate.
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Like, it's good to raise kids, be married, have jobs, enjoy
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life and everything that God's allowed us to experience in this
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world. But the longer you live and the
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more you're around the sorrow and the pain and the heartache
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of what the human race goes through, you have a different
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vantage point of when you look at life and what is it really
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about. It's really all about people
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coming to know God and being reconciled to him so they can
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spend not 70 or 80 years on this earth, but all eternity with God
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one day in heaven. And so Paul the apostle, he had
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this encounter, it was like a supernatural revelation where he
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was taken up into the 3rd heaven paradise and he saw things and
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he heard things and he experienced things that like no
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one had ever experienced. And and that's why he was able
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to write so deeply about the Kingdom and the things of God
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and the, and the plan of God for the days ahead that God had
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spoken into his life and told him about these things.
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And so he had this desire after he saw that to realize like,
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like this place here, it ain't doing it for me anymore.
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I mean, I have not seen nor ear heard nor entered into the heart
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of man the things that God has prepared for those who love him.
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He saw all that. And, and so for him to have to
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like come back and get to work here and stay busy and do what
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he did was a challenge. And, and he did it with all his
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heart, his passion for the sake of us, but he could not wait
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until he left and was in the presence of the Lord himself.
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Now he who has prepared us for this very thing, this eternal
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life, this resurrection, is God who has given us the Spirit as a
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guarantee. Now the Holy Spirit, if you're a
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Christian here today, the Holy Spirit lives within you.
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And so when you're hearing these things that I'm teaching the,
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the Bible, that what the Bible's teaching, they click, they make
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sense. They're they're like stabilizing
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factors in, in your daily life, your experience.
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If you're not a Christian here today, you must think I am
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totally out of my mind because like, it sounds like science
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fiction. Some of the stuff I'm going to
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get into. Unfortunately, most churches
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don't even take the believers into the reality of what is
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being taught here today. It's it's like, I don't know.
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I mean, we're supposed to be teaching the whole whole council
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of God and, and my responsibility as a pastor is to
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like, wow, this is like a little bit over overwhelming and deep.
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And will the people be able to handle it?
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Will they be able to receive it? Will they, you know, would do
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anything for them? And should I, should I find some
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other section of scripture where everybody's happy, you know, but
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no, I mean, this is happiness, this is joy.
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If you understand this and believe this, but you got it.
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You got to go through all this stuff.
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So. So then Paul says, so we are
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always confident, knowing that while we were at home in the
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body, like right now in the present body, we're confident of
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this one thing, that when we are absent from this body, we're
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present with the Lord, we go to be with Jesus, we leave this
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body, we go to be with Jesus. What's it like when you leave
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this body and go to be with Jesus?
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Well, they, the physical body will go into the ground.
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You've been at funerals, you know, the casket goes into the
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ground. The body deteriorates.
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And that's not the end of the body though.
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That's the holding period until the final resurrection, when God
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will raise every human that has ever died since the beginning of
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time and that final resurrection and the and the, and the bodies
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will come out of the ground. A matter of fact, when Jesus was
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resurrected, and that was a mystery in Matthew, that there
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was some people that had actually came out of the graves
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and they were alive again walking around town for a while.
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And they didn't give you a lot of details about that, but it
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was enough to say, wow, you know that that's interesting, right?
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And so, so we go to Corinthians. Now back to Corinthians, First
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Corinthians 15. Verse 20 But now Christ has
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risen from the dead. So we the last couple weeks we
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were going through the section of Scripture where the
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Corinthian believers knew there was a resurrection and they knew
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Jesus rose again from the dead, but they didn't believe they
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would raise from the dead. They didn't think that was
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important. They thought the body was evil,
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was not worth anything. It was better off never being
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brought into existence again. And they had heretical
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teachings. They didn't understand what it
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was that was actually being taught.
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The church in Corinth had a lot of false teaching and heretical
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ideas, so Paul had to really bring this home and take the
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time in great detail. That's why we're going through
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it so slow, to make sure that every believer in that church
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understood in the literal resurrection from the dead.
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That's the gospel. Christ died for our sins
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according to scriptures. He was buried the third day.
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He rose again from the dead according to the scriptures.
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So Christ has become the first fruits of those who have fallen
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asleep. Now what's interesting is the
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first fruits was a feast in the book of Leviticus.
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And when Passover occurred, the Sabbath after Passover, they
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would celebrate this first fruit feast.
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And the the priest would wave the sheaves of grain
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representing that this harvest that was beginning to be
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developed now in the springtime was God's harvest and he would
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get the best of everything first.
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Well, Jesus represents the first fruits because God has given to
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you and me the best of everything that we could ever
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possibly imagine in the person of Jesus Christ and the promise
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that as he's risen, we're also going to rise again from the
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dead, all of us. For since by man came death, by
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man also came the resurrection of the dead.
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For as an Adam all die, Even so in Christ all shall be made
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alive. So we don't have time to go into
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Romans. We were through that book and
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many of you understand the fact that it tells us in Romans and
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chapter 3 verse 23 for all of sin and fallen short of the
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glory of God in Romans 623 says for the wages of sin.
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It's death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus
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Christ our Lord. So we're all born the first time
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our first birth were born in Adam.
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We're born in Adam's nature where we have a sin nature.
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And you know, we can't blame it on Adam.
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We make our own decisions how we sin.
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But basically Adam was the beginning seed of rebellion
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against God. And everybody that's ever been
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born has been born with that same tendency to go their own
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way and to sin against God. And it's such a powerful force
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to sin nature that it controls the whole world and, and we
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still have problems with it as Christians because we can be
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tempted, we can be weakened, we can fall, we can make mistakes
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and regrets and, and then we ask God to forgive us and he always
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does. We have the way out of that sin
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nature power, so to speak, because of Christ.
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We can overcome the power of sin nature because of the Holy
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Spirit in US. And, and not sin, but someone
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who doesn't know Jesus, all they can do is sin habitually.
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It's like a sin machine. They don't have to be taught to
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do it. If this is automatic, they're
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lost to lie, to be self-centered, to cheat, to lie,
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to steal the hate and all these emotions that the human nature
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has because they're sinful. And so the only way out of this
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dilemma of being born in sin and getting the wage of sin, which
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should be death and judgement, was God had to give a make a do
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over, basically a do over right? And he sent his Son into the
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world to live like we live, but never sin perfect.
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So Jesus came to show us the way out of the sin nature.
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But there was one step that was necessary in order to be free
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from the first birth, the Adamic birth, the Adam's sin nature.
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You needed to be born again. Jesus says in John 33, you must
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be born again, not is not well, you should consider being born
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again. Maybe you should try.
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No, you must be born again and enter to enter into the Kingdom
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of heaven, you have to have a second birth.
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And the second birth is what gives you the power of the Holy
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Spirit and the life of Christ in you.
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And now you have a new family line.
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Now you're, you're not a son of Adam anymore.
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You're a son of God, son and daughter of God because what
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Jesus Christ has done for you, you get it.
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It's critical. It's absolutely necessary.
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And so everybody that you talk to and you share the gospel
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with, you need to let them know they need to be born again and
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they're going to ask you, what's that mean?
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Just like Nicodemus asked Jesus, It's a miraculous birth that
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occurs by the Spirit of God that makes us and puts us in Christ.
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It's, it's, it's awesome. So for an atom, everybody will
27:31
die, anybody, everybody's been born since the beginning of time
27:35
through that first birth will die.
27:38
Even so in Christ also be made a lot.
27:41
So in other words, because of Christ and his life and what
27:44
he's done, we experience eternal life not after we leave this
27:49
world, but right now we're living eternal life right now
27:53
when Jesus said I am the resurrection present tense.
27:57
If you're in Christ, you are experiencing the resurrection
28:00
right now, and you'll never die. You'll die physically, but
28:05
you're never going to die in the sense of someone that doesn't
28:08
know Jesus. You're going to be in his
28:12
presence. People who die without Christ or
28:15
in a holding pattern until the final judgment called shell.
28:19
It's not literal hell yet, but it will be hell eventually.
28:23
There's only one time in life and one chance in life to get
28:28
saved and get born again. And that's right now.
28:32
And maybe today that would be the day for you.
28:35
But don't let it pass and you die without getting saved
28:41
because there's no second chance after this life.
28:48
So this being made alive in Christ, verse 23 of first
28:55
Corinthians 15 says, but each one in his own order.
28:58
So there's there's this order of resurrection that's going to
29:04
occur in regard to how all these things will pass by and come to
29:11
come to pass each one in his order.
29:14
Christ the first fruits, He's the first one that rose from the
29:17
dead afterward those who are Christ at his coming.
29:22
Now I'm going to take you to 1st Thessalonians chapter 4.
29:30
If you have your Bible, turn there.
29:32
If you don't, just listen. First Thessalonians chapter 4,
29:40
verses 13 through 18. Now this is the chapter that
29:45
believers see as discussing what is called the rapture of the
29:51
church when Christ will come not to land on the planet and set up
29:56
his Kingdom yet, but come to take us out prior to the
30:02
tribulation period occurring. The seven-year tribulation,
30:06
which you don't want to definitely be here for it would
30:10
be like living in Iran right now, every day of your life for
30:13
seven years if you were a Christian persecuting,
30:17
persecution, martyrdom like Nigeria.
30:20
Some of these served world countries that is this hell to
30:23
live in, no gospel freedom, no opportunity to go to church to
30:29
worship God. Very, very terrible time.
30:32
I don't have time to get into all the details of that great
30:35
tribulation, but that will happen after the rapture and
30:40
then it will be stopped during the time when Christ comes
30:46
second coming and sets up His thousand year reign, which is
30:49
called the millennial Kingdom prior to the final battle and
30:55
the new heaven and the new earth that will be eventually created
30:59
by the Lord. So it tells us in first
31:01
Corinthians chapter 4 verse 13 through 18.
31:05
I don't want you to be ignorant brethren, concerning those who
31:07
have fallen asleep. Know you love the Lord like he
31:09
doesn't want us to be like in the dark about this stuff.
31:13
He's put it in his words so we can really understand and know
31:17
and not be confused or or ignorant concerning those who
31:22
have fallen asleep. In other words, those who have
31:24
passed away whose bodies are in the grave.
31:29
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, Even so God
31:34
will bring with him those who sleep in Jesus.
31:37
Now don't get the thought that whenever you die or someone you
31:41
love dies and knows Jesus, that they're sleeping and they're not
31:45
alive. No, they'd be absent in the
31:47
bodies. They'd be present with the Lord.
31:48
So you're very alive, but your body is sleeping in the grave.
31:53
It's not alive and it's dead. For this we say to you by the
31:58
word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the
32:03
coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are
32:06
asleep. So in other words, say the
32:08
rapture happened, like right now we're alive, we're not in the
32:12
grave, but we're not going to go up with the Lord before those
32:16
who are in the grave. For the Lord himself.
32:22
It says that we won't precede those who are asleep.
32:25
For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout
32:29
and with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of
32:31
God. So there'll be this trumpet
32:33
sound and everybody that's in Christ is going to hear that
32:37
we're going to know like, OK, this is like, we're out of here,
32:40
right? But the people in the grave are
32:43
going to be brought back to life and it says, and the dead in
32:47
Christ will rise first. So these bodies are going to
32:50
come out of the grave. Remember the movie Left Behind?
32:53
Anybody ever seen that? You know, it's it's, it's done
32:57
as best as it can be done because it's Hollywood,
33:00
whatever. But can you visualize like all
33:04
over, I ride by these cemeteries all the time in my, and when I'm
33:07
driving, I do a lot of driving in my sales business.
33:11
And I always look at churches and I look at the cemeteries.
33:13
And I just think one of those days they're going to pop open
33:16
and people are going to be coming out of there alive.
33:19
Not just like the Presbyterian cemetery or the Lutheran and the
33:22
Methodist or every cemetery where everybody's been died.
33:27
Their bodies, who, who know Jesus, their bodies are going to
33:30
be brought out and the Lord himself will descend with
33:33
heaven, with a shot, with the voice of the Archangel, the
33:36
trump of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
33:39
Then we who are alive, in other words, say this happened today
33:42
and we're alive, or whoever's alive at that time physically
33:45
and remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds
33:49
to meet the Lord in the air. So not only we have these bodies
33:53
coming out of the ground, but you'll have people like us, like
33:55
this going up and we'll be waving, hey, it's finally here.
34:00
Good to see you. I mean it's just going to be
34:02
incredible. I I can't even comprehend what
34:05
it's going to be like and them and we'll meet them in the with
34:09
the Lord in the air and it says and thus we shall always be with
34:12
the Lord. Therefore comfort one another
34:15
with these words something I I need to be reminded pastor
34:19
whenever we do funerals that by the way, they're going to be
34:23
popping out of this grave. This isn't the end for your
34:26
loved one that knows Jesus these, I hate to tell you, the
34:30
$5000 tombstone isn't going to be worth it.
34:32
Don't spend a lot of money on those stones because they're
34:34
going to be left behind. Only the bodies are coming out
34:37
of the ground. Hallelujah.
34:42
So that is that resurrection and then we have I'll continue here
34:52
in First Corinthians 15. I'm glad you gave me more time,
34:57
Carrie today because I couldn't get all this in, believe me.
35:06
So we're back to First Corinthians 15.
35:10
And so all in Christ shall be made alive, but each one in his
35:18
own order. So we just read the order, the
35:20
dead in Christ 1st, and then we which are alive will be caught
35:23
up together with them. Christ the first fruits,
35:26
afterwards those who are Christ at His coming.
35:29
Then comes the end, when he delivers the Kingdom to God the
35:33
Father, when he puts an end to all rule and all authority and
35:36
power. For He must reign till he has
35:39
put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that will be
35:43
destroyed is death, for He has put all things under his feet.
35:47
But when He says all things are put under Him, it is evident
35:50
that He who put all things under Him is accepted.
35:55
Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son
35:59
himself will also be subject to him who put all things under
36:02
him. That is God, that God may be all
36:06
and all. So we have here in Revelation
36:15
chapter 20. This is eschatology today in a
36:25
short and condensed version. But eschatology is a doctrine of
36:30
future things, things that are going to come to pass.
36:36
And I, and I had to think about this like before I was even
36:40
coming here today working on this.
36:44
How many here really actually care about what I'm saying?
36:47
And if you don't, that's OK. If you care, you don't care, you
36:51
know, but this is God's plan. So when I was 20, I was first
37:00
saved. I was so excited about this.
37:02
Every day I'm looking up in the sky thinking like this.
37:06
Could this be, I actually believe like, like that day I'm
37:10
looking in the sky that Jesus could come back and I need to
37:14
start thinking like that again because I got caught up and
37:18
raising a family and kids and jobs and work and this
37:22
everything in life, right? I want this car, I want that
37:25
kind of house. I want this kind of vacation.
37:28
Nothing wrong with any of that stuff.
37:30
But what happens with all that stuff?
37:32
Jesus says the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of
37:37
riches, and the lusts of other things choke his word out of
37:41
your heart and it becomes unfruitful.
37:45
And he's so patient with us because he knows we're all going
37:48
to go through those days of being unfruitful.
37:51
He's going to say, do you guys really care about this?
37:53
Like what I did for you? Yeah, I do, Lord, but I'm really
37:56
busy because I got these things I got to do.
37:59
Where are these things I want to do?
38:02
And he's so merciful. He knows how we're wired.
38:04
We can get. So ADD, right?
38:08
We're all ADD spiritually, ADD right.
38:11
We can be like all tuned in, like really connected and really
38:14
resonating and really connecting with it all.
38:17
And then there can be times where like we're just not and
38:23
we're the, we're the ones that lose when we're like that
38:25
because there's no life in this life.
38:27
The life is in him. And the more you learn to abide
38:31
in him and live with him moment by moment, let him be your
38:33
priority. Talk to him all day.
38:37
You're just tuned into him. Guess what?
38:39
Nothing else really matters anymore.
38:42
Nothing else is that important. You really don't need anything
38:46
when you have Jesus. You have everything when you
38:49
have Christ, and Paul understood that.
38:57
So in Revelation 20, it talks about the millennial Kingdom and
39:03
the final judgment. And I saw an Angel coming down
39:06
from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit, and a great
39:10
chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that
39:13
serpent of old, who is a devil. And Satan bound him for 1000
39:17
years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shot him
39:20
out, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the
39:23
nation's no more till the 1000 years were finished.
39:27
But after these things, he'll be released for a little while.
39:30
Fascinating like so here we are. We're we're raptured, we're
39:35
taken up to be with the Lord. The seven-year tribulation is
39:38
finally over. The Antichrist is revealed, he's
39:41
a liar and all that stuff's like done in Christ comes with us in
39:47
the clouds to the earth for the second coming where he'll
39:51
establish his thousand year millennial Kingdom and we'll be
39:56
with him. We'll roll and reign with him at
39:58
that time. There's going to be work to do.
40:01
We, we will be in these supernatural bodies.
40:04
We won't die anymore. No one can kill us.
40:07
It's just like the Matrix, you know, try to kill me.
40:10
I keep coming alive again or whatever.
40:13
It's just fascinating. And so the Lord will reign in
40:16
Jerusalem. With an iron hand, there won't
40:19
be China behaving the way they are now and Russia and Venezuela
40:23
and all these crazy rogue nations.
40:25
They won't be able to do that anymore when Christ is ruling
40:29
and reigning right. And the devil won't be deceiving
40:32
anybody and and causing the havoc he's having right now
40:36
because he's going to be thrown in the the the the abyss for the
40:40
1000 years until that period of time is up.
40:44
And what a blessing that's going to be.
40:49
But this is what's going to happen.
40:50
OK, So this will be going on for 1000 years.
40:55
After the 1000 years have finished these things, he'll be
40:58
released. And I saw Thrones.
41:01
This is the vision of the apostle John when he wrote
41:03
revelation about the thousand year reign.
41:07
They, they had sat on them and judgement was committed to them.
41:11
And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the
41:14
witness for Jesus and for the word of God, who had not
41:17
worshipped the beast or his image and had not received his
41:20
mark on their foreheads or on their hand during that
41:23
tribulation period. There will be some kind of
41:25
identification code and I don't know what it's going to look
41:28
like, but I know the technologies there are now,
41:30
whether they do implants on our wrists or our foreheads to buy
41:33
and sell, whether, whether it's the iPhone that you know, you're
41:37
not going to be able to do anything unless you have this
41:40
with a special code. And when you go to the store,
41:43
you're going to go on a trip or somewhere, you have to have that
41:46
code. And if you don't have it,
41:47
they're going to say, we're sorry, Sir, you're blocked.
41:50
You can't buy anything here. And the identification code is
41:54
that I pay homage and allegiance to the Antichrist, the ruler of
41:59
the world at that time that says I can't do anything unless I I'm
42:03
100% devoted and committed to his ways.
42:07
So the judges at this time in Revelation, they can see all the
42:14
people that were martyred during the Tribulation.
42:16
And then there will be believers in the Tribulation, people who
42:19
will come to faith in Christ after we're out of here.
42:23
They'll say, boy, I remember what Clark was telling me.
42:26
I never believed it. Now I know it's true.
42:30
And I'm not taking out Mark. And people will be martyred who
42:37
had not worshipped the beast or his image, and had not received
42:41
His mark on their foreheads or on their hands.
42:45
And they lived and they reigned with Christ for 1000 years.
42:47
But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand
42:51
years were finished. Now these are all the people
42:53
that had died without Christ. This is the first resurrection.
42:58
Blessed is the Holy One. Blessed and holy is he who has
43:01
part in the first resurrection. That's us over such.
43:05
The second death has no power. But they shall be priests of God
43:11
and of Christ, and shall reign with Him 1000 years.
43:15
Now when the 1000 years have expired, Satan will be released
43:18
from his prison, and will go out to deceive the nations which are
43:21
in the four corners of the earth.
43:23
This is the final battle. Gog and Magog to gather them
43:27
together to battle, whose number is the sand of the sea.
43:32
And they went up the breadth of the earth, and surrounded the
43:34
camp of the Saints and beloved city.
43:36
And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them.
43:39
The devil who deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and
43:43
brimstone, where the beast and false prophet are.
43:46
The Antichrist, the false prophet, they're already doomed.
43:49
Not this for a little while. This is it, This is final done,
43:54
and they will be tormented day and night, forever and ever.
43:58
Then I saw a great white throne and him who sat on it, from
44:01
whose face the earth and the heaven had fled away, and there
44:05
was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and
44:09
great, standing before God. Now we won't be standing at the
44:12
great white throne judgment because we were forgiven.
44:15
This is for people who have not ever put their faith in Jesus,
44:19
and it's a fair judgment. The books were open and another
44:23
book was open, which is the Book of life, and the dead were
44:26
judged according to their works. Whenever you die as an
44:30
unbeliever, you have no standing other than how you lived your
44:34
life. And if you haven't lived your
44:36
life perfectly, you're it doesn't matter.
44:39
You're you're going to go to hell.
44:41
You might say, well, I did this, I did this good.
44:43
I was like, doesn't matter. The only way you can get into
44:47
heaven is through the perfect shed blood of Jesus and his
44:51
righteousness. That's what gives you access
44:54
into the throne room of God without guilt and without shame.
44:59
And the dead are judged according to this book,
45:01
according to their works, by the things which were written in the
45:04
books. The sea gave up the dead.
45:07
These are all the other people that weren't resurrected when we
45:10
were, that weren't believers. We're in it and death in Hades.
45:14
They were delivered up the dead who were in them, and they were
45:18
judged, each one according to his works.
45:20
Then death in Hades were cast into the lake of fire.
45:23
This is the second death and this is sobering.
45:27
And anyone not found written in the book of life was cast into
45:32
the lake of fire. Aren't you glad your name is
45:35
written in the book of life? Jesus has your names written
45:40
there and they can't be erased out there there forever.
45:45
You're His, you belong to Him, and you have everlasting life.
45:52
So wonderful, isn't it? So wonderful.
45:58
So as I wind down here in First Corinthians 15, he makes his
46:05
comment about people being baptized for the dead.
46:07
There was false teaching, Pagan mysticism and calls and people
46:11
thought, well, if if my family died and they never got
46:15
baptized, I'm going to get baptized for them and my baptism
46:20
will be accredited their account to their account so they can be
46:24
in heaven. Well, first of all, baptism
46:25
doesn't save anybody. The thief on the cross was never
46:29
baptized. And Jesus, when he said that
46:31
Jesus, Lord, Remember Me when you're in paradise, he said,
46:34
sure, surely this day you shall be with me in paradise.
46:37
He didn't yell down, hey, get this guy off the cross and dunk
46:40
him in water. And then once he's in water and
46:43
then I can promise him he'll be with me in paradise.
46:45
That didn't happen. He was immediately taken to be
46:48
with the Lord. But anyway, Paul's making a
46:50
point here. If these people are so desperate
46:53
because of understanding the need of resurrection, but
46:56
they're they got messed up teaching.
46:59
They're they're so focused on trying to do what they can to
47:02
get someone who's dead in into heaven and it won't work.
47:06
He says, why do we stand in jeopardy every hour?
47:09
And this is Paul and the apostles.
47:10
I affirm by the boasting to you, which I have in Christ Jesus our
47:14
Lord. I die daily.
47:16
If in the manner of men I have fought with beast and Ephesus.
47:20
What advantage is it to me? In other words, Paul saying, now
47:23
look at my life. I've been in prison, I've been
47:26
threatened to be martyred. Eventually he was martyred.
47:29
He says you think I'd be doing this stuff if this resurrection
47:32
wasn't true. You're crazy.
47:38
He said if the dead do not rise, if in other words everything
47:41
that was written here, if this isn't true, let us eat, drink
47:47
and be merry. Why?
47:50
For tomorrow we die. Let us eat, drink and be merry,
47:54
for tomorrow we die. Now this last verse I'm going to
47:58
read is also very sobering. It says don't be deceived.
48:02
Evil company corrupts good habits.
48:04
As a Christian, if you ever hung around some people you know you
48:07
shouldn't hang around. Usually they have more of an
48:11
influence on you than you do with them, and all of a sudden
48:15
your worldview starts changing. Well, they're not too bad.
48:18
They're nice people. I don't think transgenderism is
48:22
that big of a deal. Yeah, they had an abortion.
48:24
That's their right. They can do that.
48:26
That. I'm not gonna say anything about
48:28
that. That's their business.
48:29
Or, you know, immorality, sexual morality, fornication, adultery,
48:34
you know, they, they're nice people, they do that stuff.
48:37
But I'm not doing that. Well, you better watch out,
48:39
because the more you hang around people that act that way, the
48:43
more you can begin to become that way.
48:46
And Paul's warning people here. Evil company corrupts good
48:49
habits. Awake to righteousness.
48:53
Wake up everybody and don't sin. Don't be practicing sin.
48:58
You know why for some have not the knowledge of God, he says,
49:03
and I speak this to your shame. So as a worship team can come
49:06
forward, Paul's wanting us to wake up here to this truth of
49:11
resurrection. So first of all, we have an
49:14
impulse and a desire to tell people about what Christ has
49:17
done for us. Share the gospel, right?
49:19
That's what we do. We're having gospel training
49:22
here next Saturday 9:00. If anybody wants to learn how to
49:26
share their faith and conversational way, not
49:30
pressure, but this try to get people to be open minded about
49:33
the gospel. Paul wants the church in Corinth
49:38
and the church in Greensburg to wake up to the fact that there's
49:42
a lot of people that don't know who Jesus is, right?
49:46
You know, people that don't know Jesus.
49:48
I know people don't know Jesus. We need to pray and ask God to
49:51
give us the grace to be able to tell them about Jesus.
49:55
Let them listen to Grace FM tell them to tune in to 91.7.
50:00
They'll hear the pastors on their share of the gospel all
50:03
day long. And you, you share the gospel.
50:07
So that is a a lot of stuff you guys had to listen to today.
50:12
And I hope you're not confused. If you're confused, ask Lewis.
50:16
He'll help you out. No, we'll, we'll all help you
50:21
out here. All, all that.
50:22
Most of us believe what I what I taught today.
50:24
So let's take the Lord's Supper. I mentioned the Underwood's had
50:50
a baby. Did I mention that?
50:53
Oh, OK. Beautiful little baby.
50:56
They're probably watching. We rejoice and congratulate you
50:59
guys. Everything's good with the baby.
51:03
Amen. Lord, we're so grateful for the
51:07
truth of your word and Lord God, how you make it accessible to
51:13
us, how we can read it for ourselves.
51:20
And then Lord, by your grace, be able to understand it and then
51:23
believe it and then live it out. I pray for anybody here today
51:29
who's heard these things. Maybe they're scared now because
51:31
they don't know who you are. They've heard some things that
51:34
are going to eventually happen and wonder why or how or how
51:39
does that impact me or Lord, I pray that they would just ask
51:43
you, Lord, for help. Say, Lord, Jesus, show me the
51:46
truth. Show me the way you said you're
51:49
the way. You're the truth of the life.
51:50
I need to know the way I need to know the truth.
51:54
And I definitely want to have the life that's resurrected and
51:58
lives forever. And for those of us who
52:01
understand these things and have believed them for years and know
52:04
them helped us to be stronger in these things and our
52:08
convictions. Be more 100% focused upon what
52:13
it is You want us to do with all these truths and how we live
52:16
them and how we share them. Everything you did for us, Lord,
52:21
You gave it all away for us. And You asked so little of us.
52:26
Lord. You asked us to simply believe
52:29
and to trust You and repent, to turn from our sin.
52:33
And Lord, we do that again this morning.
52:35
Lord, we ask you to forgive us for anything this past week that
52:39
has been not appropriate, hasn't been right.
52:44
Attitudes, judgments, criticisms, self centeredness,
52:48
Lord, anger, hatred, bitterness, whatever rolls up in our lives
52:56
at times, please cleanse us. Give us forgiving hearts of
53:01
others. Lord, Lord, you forgive us.
53:06
I know as we come to you and say we're sorry, cleanse us as your,
53:11
as your children, as believers. And then Lord, if there's anyone
53:14
here who isn't a believer today for the first time they can say,
53:17
Lord, I'm asking you to forgive me.
53:21
I'm asking you to cleanse me. I get it.
53:26
And I want to be with you one day in heaven.
53:32
I want to sense your presence in my life.
53:34
I don't want to be alone anymore in my thoughts.
53:38
I don't want to live my life the way I've lived it.
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I'm tired of it. It's empty and I see nothing but
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ruin broken lives around me every day.
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They need you, Jesus, and I need you, Jesus.
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Please come into my life and save me.
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On the night that Jesus is betrayed.
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He took the bread in his hands and he broke it and he gave
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thanks and he said, take, eat. This is my body which was given
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to you. Eat this in remembrance of me.
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The same manner in that evening He took the cup.
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He said This cup is a new covenant in my blood which was
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shed for the forgiveness of sins of many.
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Drink this in remembrance of me. As often as we eat this bread
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and we drink this cup, we show forth the Lord's death till he
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comes again. God bless you guys.