FBCWest 451 | Jesus’ Resurrection, Does It Matter
Recorded On: 05/16/2021
Bulletin
FBCWest
May 16, 2021
“God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and truth.”
Praise and Worship
SCRIPTURE READING – Psalm 135:1 - 3
“Endless Light”
“Resurrecting”
Proclamation of the Word
Message by Pastor Joe
“The Earthly Life and Ministry of Jesus the Messiah”
“Jesus’ Resurrection, Does It Matter?”
PRAYER TIME / Time of Reflection
“We Believe”
Giving of Selves and Our Offerings
“Since Jesus Came Into My Heart”
OFFERTORY PRAYER
SPECIAL MUSIC – By Pru Hungate
Continued Praise and Worship
“Speaking Louder Than Before”
“Rest”
Benediction “Egypt”
Acknowledgements and Announcements
Sermon Notes
1 Corinthians 15:3 – 4 Scriptures confirmed
1 Corinthians 15:5 – 8 He did appear to many
1 Corinthians 15:14 Preaching and faith in vain
I Corinthians 15:15 False witnesses
1 Corinthians 15:17 Faith worthless and still in our sins
1 Corinthians 15:20 – 23 Our resurrection
1 Corinthians 15:42 – 45 A new body
I Corinthians 15:50 – 57 An imperishable body
Scritpures
Transcript of Service
The title of today's sermon is the Resurrection of Jesus.
Doesn't matter.
There are those who claim to know a lot about religion.
And will tell you.
That all religions are the same.
They will use the analogy of a blind man or a blindfolded man.
Touching various parts of an elephant, some might be holding the trunk, others holding the tail, others may be the leg.
All describing an elephant, but it's the same elephant, although that they are discribing different parts.
Those people don't know anything about religion, let alone anything about a particular religion. Let me tell you why.
Because the various religions in the world all attack a different problem.
Those who followed the eastern religions.
Look at.
Whether it's Confucianism or Buddhism or whatever is the problem is enlightenment, and once one becomes more and more enlightened, the better one becomes, and maybe then succeeding into this.
Heavenly state
my problem with that.
View of a problem is that man's heart is wickedly.
All the way down and inside a corrupt and I have known people who have been very intelligent and people who have little intelligence still having the same heart problem.
Of evilness
and then you have those who are followers of Islam and the problem that Islam tries correct is is to be submissive to God, and the problem is as if you just become submissive. Then you will reach the heavenly goal and as a part of that since it's submissive is the goal. It doesn't matter whether you do that voluntarily or at the end of a sword or a gun.
So long as you submit, that's all that matters.
And then you have other various religions and some that creep into true Christianity that says as long as you are good enough, as long as the good outweighs the bad, that therefore everything will be fine and God will let you into his heaven. And it's based on works.
And then there's Christianity that says the problem.
Ascent.
And the only way to correct that problem is to have sin paid for, so that one might become righteous.
And in Christianity, unlike any other of the world religions, it teaches that the Son of God gave himself for you, that you might become righteous.
Jesus himself rejects the whole concept of all the religions are the same because he says I am the way I am, the truth.
An I am the life. He doesn't say I am a way or I am a truth or I am a life. He is exclusionary. You don't follow him. You don't see the father.
So Christianity and I know in today's world we all want to be inclusive.
Well, you can be included if you follow Jesus.
Other than that, it is exclusive.
But Christianity makes a very bold claim.
It says that Jesus was and raised from the dead.
There are implications of that.
And we're going to take a look at that now. And so if you have your Bibles, if you'll turn to first Corinthians Chapter 15.
And.
I'm enjoying too today to preach this message.
Because usually much of the material I'm going to be covering.
In today's message I only cover when there's a funeral or a memorial surface, and so we're always talking about somebody who is dearly departed. And so since there's no one here who is dearly departed, we can kind of talk and not the emotional baggage that comes with that.
And so if you'll if you are in first Corinthians chapter 15, we're going to start.
With verse 3.
And Paul says this.
For I delivered to you as of first importance, which I also received, that that Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures. And that now, I want you to notice something.
Paul is starting his argument.
And his validation of Jesus is resurrection, not first on eyewitness accounts.
He starts with the first important thing is the scriptures.
I find that interesting because in today's Christian work, because we've kind of given up that the world doesn't pay any attention to the scriptures, we try to use other things to prove the resurrection of Jesus. And Paul says we're going to start first with the scriptures. The scriptures are that which?
Witness to the resurrection.
Now you might think again, that's strange because you would think that I would miss accounts or witnesses would be the first thing that you would show if you will in a trial that that you're attempting to prove something.
But it's interesting.
Eye witnesses may not always be the most reliable.
And circumstantial evidence and demonstrative evidence and.
Documentary evidence may be more.
Persuasive, let me give an example.
There are some people standing outside a building and a person is shoved. Will say this. A lady is shoved out of a window and falls to the street below and smacked splat.
She's dead.
There's a little tear on her dress. An eye. Witnesses say I saw a man push her from the 10th floor of that building.
So the police go up and arrest the man on the 10th floor of that building.
But later on in the forensic.
Look at this looking at the torn dress. They see that on the 12th floor there is a piece of her dress.
Well, the witnesses said it came from the 10th floor, but the.
Forensic evidence says it can't be the 10th floor. She had to fall at least from the 12th floor because their dress is there.
And so Paul is saying the most important witness of the resurrection of Jesus is the scriptures that he died according to the scriptures that he was buried. And I'm going to say, according to the Scriptures and that he rose again according to the Scriptures.
So it is if you will documentary evidence, but let me go beyond that. It's not just documentary evidence, it is the word of God.
God is witnessing that I'm going to give you forensic documentary evidence that you can trust this one because he lived, died and rose again. According to my word.
And so Paul says, I'm not going to run away from the scriptures as a matter of fact, it's a first importance.
In my argument that the resurrection of Jesus, I'm going to use the Scriptures to do that. An since Paul finds it as a.
Persuasive argument I'm not going to run away from it either.
And I'm going to.
Talk a little bit more about the scriptures in a little while.
So it says my first.
Offering is the scriptures says and that he appeared to, Cephas or Peter, or Simon, then to the 12, and after that he appeared to more than 500 brother and at one time most of whom remain until now. But some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all, as to one untimely born. He appeared to me also.
I want you to see the pool is saying that there are eyewitnesses that saw Jesus alive after the resurrection, and he names, but he doesn't give in an exclusive exhaustive list.
He doesn't talk about the women who saw him. He doesn't talk about the number of times that he appeared to the disciples. He does tell us that there was over 500 and there are an. So he saying that.
While you might argue one or two people might have hallucinated his resurrection, the situation is there are not group hallucinations of 500.
So he's saying these eyewitnesses can be trusted an if you want to go investigate, you can go to Jerusalem and task the people because they saw him, but in his.
Account of eyewitnesses. He doesn't just give those who were his followers.
Now I want you to understand that his followers, prior to his resurrection, even though Jesus talked about his resurrection, had no anticipation that Jesus would rise from the dead. They thought according to their doctrinal belief that there would be a spiritual resurrection that they would go to heaven, but there was no thought of a bottali resurrection. So the idea that they would come up with this when they had and understood that in their previous religious understandings.
Shows them.
When Jesus rose from the dead, it's because he rose from the dead. But it wasn't just his followers.
He mentions James, the half brother of Jesus.
The half brother of Jesus thought Jesus was crazy while Jesus was alive.
As a matter of fact, he came with his other brothers while Jesus was teaching and preaching to take him home because he was.
Crazy.
That's not someone who would say, oh.
He rose from the dead unless he saw Jesus rise from the dead.
And not only did James change from thinking somebody that that his half brother was crazy, he now became a leader of the church.
But Paul goes beyond that. He names himself.
And Paul was more than just a critic of the disciples.
He persecuted him. He arrested them. He wanted to see them murdered. He was happy and assisted in the stoning of Stephen.
Because they were heretics, and they were blasphemers. And it was his duty as a zealot to make sure that this sect was eradicated until he came.
Face to face with the risen Lord.
So Paula St.
I can give you a list of witnesses.
But I also saw it.
And I wasn't an immediately immediate follower. I was a persecute are.
Now let's jump down to.
Verse 14.
Because Paul said, I just established that Jesus rose from the dead, but less assuming for argument that Jesus didn't rise from the dead.
What then?
Verse 14 says an if Christ has not been raised then our preaching is in vain.
Horses, I'm wasting my time trying to present the gospel. If Jesus didn't rise from the dead.
It's in vain.
Is basically using the same concept that Solomon did when he came to conclusions that life was more than work or pleasure, or wisdom or whatever. That all these things are vain and Paula saying my preaching, I'm wasting my time. If Christ did and rise from the dead.
And he says in your faith also is in vain.
You see, Paul makes it very clear.
So we're wasting our time here.
Jesus, then rise from the dead.
Our faith.
Our understanding of who Jesus is and what he accomplished.
And our belief that somehow that life and that death and that resurrection affects our life and no, it doesn't.
Our faith.
Is in vain.
Then he says another thing in verse 15 Moreover.
We are even found to be false witnesses of God because we testified against God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise. If in fact the dead are not raised from the dead. So Paula sane not only do I have the problem and you have the problem that are preaching, and our faith is in vain.
We are false witnesses of God.
And one of the Big Commandments is thou shall not bear false witness. But it's not just false witness in the sense of I accuse you of doing something wrong. In essence, he's saying I'm telling that God did something that God did not do. If God did not do it, I am a false witness, and therefore I'm in big trouble.
Because I violated one of the 10 Commandments.
Now jump down to verse 17 and if Christ had not been raised.
Your faith is worthless.
And you are still in your sense.
You see, if Jesus wasn't raised from the dead.
The very problem that we say that is the remedy is sin, and the problem is we are still in our sense.
Our faith is worthless because we're still in our sins. The preaching is worthless because we're still in our sins.
Remember I said that, Paul?
Argued.
That the foremost and most important aspect of Christ resurrection.
Was the scriptures.
The reason that we know that Jesus is the Messiah is because of the scriptures.
But if Jesus was entw the Messiah.
If Jesus.
Wasn't raised from the dead.
Not only are we still in our sins, we have no hope to ever.
Be forgiven ever since? Well, what do you mean? Because there will be no mother Messiah.
What do you mean there's an Antichrist? Coming into Scripture tells us about that Antichrist and tells us that how that person is going to have a mortal head wound, and he's going to appear alive and everybody is going to say, oh wonderful, what a miracle? And they're going to follow it.
But he's the Antichrist.
Jesus lived.
Died, buried and Rose again according to the scriptures. When Jesus came into Jerusalem. On that what we call.
Palm Sunday.
Not only and we emphasize this, not only did he enter Jerusalem, according to the Scriptures riding on a donkey's Colt, Meek and mild.
An entry in Jerusalem, an even in the.
Implicit and not explicit role.
'cause the scriptures tell us.
That the glory of God left the temple.
And went to the Mount of Olives and ascended.
And we see the glory the son of God coming from Mount of Olives to the temple.
The scriptures are implicit in that you have to kind of study a little more and pay it close attention to see that. But there is a very explicit aspect to the scriptures that very few people talk about.
Daniel tells us when the Messiah was to be announced.
And I firmly believe that Jesus entered Jerusalem on the very day that he was supposed to enter Jerusalem, declaring himself the Messiah.
However.
Even if it wasn't, let's say that exact day.
It was around that time.
Any other Messiah hadn't come around that time. He ain't coming.
'cause it's too late.
It's like 2000 years too late.
So the problem that we have in our sins is never going to be remedied because any Messiah who comes after that is a false Messiah.
And we are lossed.
In doomed.
To help.
Jumping to verse 20 says, but now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by man came death by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all died so also in Christ all will be made alive.
But each in his own order Christ the first fruits, and after that those are in Christ at his coming. And then the end will come.
The scriptures tell us that because that Jesus rose from the dead, guess what we get to also.
One of the implications one of the results. One of the facts of Jesus's resurrection is that we two will be resurrected.
You see, our faith is, and someday we will.
See the light.
And being the light.
No, the scripture says that we are going to be resurrected.
And not because we have merit, not because we accomplished it because the scriptures say that for all of send and come short of the glory of God.
But it's because of Jesus is death, burial and resurrection. We to who believe will be resurrected.
So he gives us that only.
Forgiveness of sins.
But eternal life.
So now jump down to verse 42.
So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body. It is raised in imperishable body. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness. It is raised in power. It is Sonin natural body. It is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.
You see, so it is written the first man, Adam, became a living soul, the last man.
The last Adam became a life giving spirit.
So Paul says, not only are we going to be resurrected, this resurrection is going to be different.
You see, I'm old enough that if they said you know you're going to be raised from the dead, but you're going to be raised the way you died.
Wouldn't necessarily be all that excited.
Because my body is wearing out.
I kind of got this thing in my shoulder. It kind of hurts and everything and sometimes when I try to dry my back off it hurt. You know it's like.
That is that happened, and then you know, kind of like sometimes I don't have quite the balance. I well, maybe I should lose weight and even that how come I know and and things just don't work? And then when I when I do injure myself it takes a whole lot longer to recover.
And when I get a bruise, it doesn't heal as fast.
Jesus isn't promising you die and then and then, **** you're back where you were.
It's a new body.
It's an imperishable body.
Its own in dishonor, but it is raised in glory.
Jumping down to verse 50.
Now I say this brother and that flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God, nor those of Parish will inherit the imperishable.
Behold, I tell you a mystery. Now a mystery is something that we didn't quite know before, but God is now revealing to us.
We will not all sleep.
Now, he's not saying that we're all going to take a nap. He's saying we will not die, and the reason he uses sleep rather than die is not because he's afraid of using the term die. You know, a lot of us, you know, we don't like that word, so we have all these euphemisms. He kicked the bucket.
Or whatever you know there's he passed on or he did all these things 'cause we don't like the word die. Paul is not using the term sleep because he doesn't like the word. He saying sleep because he's saying you don't die.
It's eternal life. It's life, life, life is not life, death, life.
So your body just simply goes to sleep goes to rest, but you're still alive.
But we will all be changed.
In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, a twinkling of an eye is quicker than a millisecond. It's boom.
It's not a long process.
The God who spoke the universe into existence.
Has the ability, in the twinkling of an eye.
To change you from a perishable body to an imperishable body, they can do that. If you're living or you're dead.
'cause that kind of power he has. So in the twinkling of an eye not in a long process.
Adjust
at the last Trump, the Trump will sound and the dead will be raised imperishable.
Now this is time for us to start saying Hallelujah.
Because Jesus is saying I'm coming back and booming, gonna raise from the dead and you would be in the same problem she had. You just still alive know Jesus saying I want to change you.
I'm not only changing your heart, but I'm changing your body.
So that it will be a heavenly body.
For the Trump will sound and the dead will be raised in prayerful and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when the perishable will have put on the imperishable, and the murder will have been put on immortality, then will come about the same that is written death is swallowed up in victory over death. Where is your victory? Oh, death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
He's saying everything has been changed because of the resurrection.
Not only has your sins been forgiven, but death has been defeated and you are going to have an eternal life with an eternal, imperishable body.
So when you say goodbye to a believer.
It's not goodbye.
So I'll see you later.
And I'll see you differently and you'll see me differently.
It will be like Christ.
The sting of Death is sent.
The power of sin's law. You see, that's where Christianity understands that the problem that we have.
Is our sin.
And Jesus has remedied that problem.
But thanks be to God who gives us the victory.
Notice it did say that we get the victory Jesus through the Lord gave us the victory. We didn't earn. It were not entitled to it. It's because of a faith in Jesus, the risen savior.
Who is gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ?
This verse isn't in the both him, but I want to go ahead and read. It concludes chapter 15. Verse 58 says this. Therefore, my beloved brethren.
Be steadfast.
Immovable.
Always abounding in the work of the Lord.
You see, there is a reason that we are to do what we do. That's because Jesus did, in fact, was risen from the dead.
If he wasn't, then.
Go do something else.
Because our faith is in vain, we're loss in our sins and you might as well.
Do what all the beer commercials say. Grab all the gusto you can.
And as Paul has said earlier, if in this life only we have hope and Jesus were all men most miserable, why?
Because we take a bunch of abuse for faith.
Everybody thinks all you believe in the God of the gaps and you're stupid and you gotta have a crutch. And all of these other things and everybody looks at us as stupid and whatever and everybody else could have the most.
Moranak view of life.
They're entitled to their opinion, but we're not.
At this point we're just kind of looked down upon. There will come a time when we will be persecuted. So if Jesus didn't raise from the dead.
There's no percentage in being persecuted.
Because our faith is in vain.
And are we're still in our sins.
But as Paul started his argument, the Scriptures testify that Jesus rose from the dead.
People who saw it testify that he rose from the dead, and I'll tell you something I didn't see him physically.
But as Jesus told Thomas More, blessing to those who believe who haven't seen, then you have seen an I've seen him.
In faith.
And I'm here to testify that Jesus rose from the dead.
And if he didn't, then I am like Paul have just.
Violated.
The 10 commandments
If Jesus wasn't in fact raised from the dead.
But if he did.
Then we should not be wishy washy about it.
We should be immovable.
It's not just my belief, it's a fact there are.
Proof.
If the scriptures.
R.
Sacred
if they are inspired.
And I believe they are.
Then Jesus rose from the dead.
If the scriptures are merely reliable.
Then Jesus rose from the dead.
If the facts of the data around the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus and the people who were transformed, whether they be his followers or those who were his critics, and persecute Earz who saw the resurrection.
Gave proof to that it is a fact. The empty tomb is a testimony of the fact.
Immovable.
Always.
Always, not, sometimes always abounding in the work of the Lord.
For what's the work of the Lord that you shall be my witnesses, that you shall make disciples, teaching them all that I have commanded you?
That's our job.
To love one another as he is loved us, to forgive, to be merciful.
To have the fruits of the spirit.
Knowing
not, believing, not suspecting, not hoping, knowing that your toil, and when he uses the word toil, he's using, it's tough. It's hard you're going to sweat. You're going to be defeated. You're going to look. It's like.
Picking cotton or doing whatever you look at Rosen, Rosen, Rosen, your hands hurt and you keep going, or you're picking strawberries. That's something Orange County we shun and your back hurt and whatever he said, I don't. It's it's hard work, it's toil.
But it's not in vain in the Lord.
His Jesus is going to see your work for him, not your work to be saved, but your work to acknowledge who he is.
And your work to tell the world.
His Lord and savior.
And that he is the Messiah.
And without him, there is no hope.
So we're here today.
Because we believe.
In the father.
We believe in the sun.
We believe in the Holy Spirit. We believe in the resurrection and we believe that he's coming back.
Our faith is not in vain.
It may not be popular.
But it's true.
Because the scriptures testify it.
The disciples and Apostles testified to it.
Those who saw it testify to it. Those who saw the results of the Holy Spirit coming an.
Washing over them understood it, and that same Holy Spirit.
Now comes to each of us.
To empower us to believe.
And to invite us.
Have our sins forgiven?
And that we to my.
No longer be fearful of death.
Because there is a resurrection and Jesus was that first fruit, and because he was that first fruit, I know that there is a guarantee.
So when the next time we do have a loved one that we have a service for.
We're not saying goodbye.
The same you're going to be changed.
And we're going to be changed.
And thank God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
And all God's people said.