Introduction:
Romans 1:4 - and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord...
Getting Real About Resurrection (1 Cor 15:12-34):
- Consider the Alternative : What if there is no resurrection? (1 Cor 15:1-2)
- Preaching the gospel is meaningless. (1 Cor 15:12-14a)
- Faith in Christ is meaningless. (1 Cor 15:14b)
- Your Bible is blasphemous. (1 Cor 15:15)
- There is no Forgiveness of sin. (1 Cor 15:16-17)
- Believers who have died are Gone Forever . (1 Cor 15:18)
- Christians are the Worst . (1 Cor 15:19)
- Understand the Order : When will it happen? (1 Cor 15:21-28)
- Live in the Promise : Walk a new path. (1 Cor 15:29-34)
- My new path has no Fear . (1 Cor 15:29-32)
- My new path avoids bad Influences . (1 Cor 15:33-34)
Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!
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00:48-00:51
I'd like you to open up your Bibles with me, please, to 1 Corinthians 15.
00:54-01:02
You know, there are some things in life that you just can't go back from.
01:04-01:05
You can't undo them.
01:07-01:08
Like riding a bike.
01:09-01:13
Once you learn, you always have that.
01:13-01:14
That's cliche.
01:16-01:17
But like, what about reading?
01:18-01:25
Once you learn how to read, you can't help but read everywhere you see text, right?
01:28-01:29
But do you know what it really is for me?
01:33-01:33
Stretchy jeans.
01:36-01:37
Do you know what I'm talking about?
01:38-01:40
I mean, years ago, I saw an infomercial.
01:41-01:43
It was for Jeannie Slim Jeggings.
01:43-01:45
How many saw the genie slim jeggings?
01:46-01:47
Okay, like five of you.
01:47-01:48
Okay, awesome.
01:49-01:54
They were, they were, gee, they looked like jeans, but they were stretchy.
01:56-01:59
And then, like sometime after that, they made those for men.
02:02-02:03
And those changed my life.
02:06-02:08
There's no going back now.
02:10-02:15
I can't buy the regular denim Tuftskins in knee pads, I can't go back to that!
02:16-02:23
Because they make jeans that are like spandex, and now that I know that, I can't unknow that.
02:26-02:28
You're like, I thought we were at an Easter service.
02:31-02:43
Here's my point, once you truly know and experience, you just, you can't go back, and today, I mean, those were silly examples, but today's the ultimate.
02:44-02:50
That once you truly know, and when I say know, I don't just mean you heard the Easter story.
02:50-03:04
I mean, when you know that Jesus Christ rose from the dead and when you believe and embrace everything that that means, you can't go back.
03:05-03:09
You can't go back to thinking the way you thought before.
03:09-03:12
You can't go back to living the way you lived before.
03:12-03:15
I mean, when you truly get it, you can't go back.
03:16-03:18
It's part of your life.
03:20-03:25
The resurrection of Jesus Christ, it's the most significant event in history.
03:27-03:41
And not just as a moment in time, but as an event that has continuing implications in the lives of every single person that is willing to embrace Him.
03:43-03:45
It's the central teaching of the gospel.
03:47-03:56
So really church, today isn't much different than any other week for us, because don't we get together every Sunday and celebrate the fact that Jesus Christ rose from the dead?
03:58-04:14
Romans 1.4 says regarding Jesus, "He was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness, by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ, our Lord.
04:17-04:21
It's not just a part of the gospel, it's the heart of the gospel.
04:22-04:31
And for us, because Jesus was raised, believers in Jesus Christ will be raised too.
04:34-04:58
And I gotta tell you, if you're visiting with us, or you're new, or you're streaming for the first time, that resurrection isn't just some stale doctrine on a page, nor is it just some metaphor or poetic concept or something that benefits you in the short term.
05:01-05:07
When we talk about resurrection, We are literally talking about your eternal state of being.
05:08-05:10
So you have to know this.
05:11-05:15
So on your outline, if you're taking notes today, we're gonna be talking about getting real about resurrection.
05:17-05:32
Picking up where we left off in 1 Corinthians 15, we saw he started giving witnesses to the resurrection and then he talked about how the resurrection of Christ and the grace of God personally transformed him.
05:34-05:37
We're gonna pick up in verse 12.
05:38-05:44
Getting real about resurrection, the first thing, church, we need to consider the alternative.
05:46-05:47
That's where he takes us.
05:47-05:48
Consider the alternative.
05:48-05:50
What if there was no resurrection?
05:53-05:56
That's where he's going in verses 13 through 19.
05:59-06:07
He's like, "Okay, hypothetically, let's pretend for a second, let's pretend there was no resurrection at all.
06:08-06:11
Okay, so imagine here's the story that we have.
06:12-06:25
Jesus Christ, betrayed, arrested, trial, publicly executed, buried in a borrowed tomb.
06:27-06:36
And then on the third day, the women go to the tomb and the stone is still there.
06:39-06:41
And the guards are standing outside.
06:43-06:45
Like, "What are you ladies doing here?
06:45-06:50
Move along." What if there was no resurrection?
06:52-06:53
Look at verse 12.
06:54-07:11
He says, "Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?" If there is no resurrection, jot this down, letter A, preaching the gospel is meaningless.
07:13-07:18
He says, "But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.
07:20-07:26
And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain." Stop there.
07:26-07:28
Preaching the gospel is meaningless if there's no resurrection.
07:29-07:37
I am wasting my time every week spending hours studying God's Word to get up and preach God's Word.
07:38-07:51
And if that wasn't bad enough, you're wasting your time every single week, getting up Sunday morning, you could be sleeping in, but here you are, you've come to join the little choir here and we sing our little songs.
07:54-07:58
It's kind of dumb if there's no resurrection.
07:58-08:13
I mean, just think about all the Bible studies, all the small groups, all the conferences and seminars and websites, and so much time and money has been wasted if there was no resurrection.
08:15-08:26
And somebody would say, "Oh, but we would still have all of the wonderful teachings of Jesus even if he doesn't resurrect." Like, wonderful teachings, huh?
08:27-08:27
From who?
08:28-08:32
a man who claimed that he was going to rise from the dead and he didn't?
08:35-08:36
And that's the guy you're going to follow, huh?
08:37-08:37
Brilliant.
08:39-08:39
There's no resurrection.
08:40-08:41
Preaching is meaningless.
08:42-08:44
And if there's no resurrection, let her be.
08:44-08:45
Faith in Christ is meaningless.
08:45-08:46
Look where he takes us next.
08:47-08:58
He says, "Our preaching is in vain," and then he says, "And your faith is in vain." Why would you put your faith in a martyr if Jesus didn't rise from the dead?
08:59-09:00
You know, lots of people have been crucified.
09:01-09:03
So what's so special about Jesus?
09:05-09:09
Because Jesus spent his whole ministry saying, "I'm going to rise from the dead.
09:09-09:14
They're going to kill me and the third day I'm going to rise from the dead." He said that over and over and over.
09:15-09:27
So if there was no resurrection, Jesus was either mistaken, like, "Whoops, totally got that wrong, or he was crazy, or he was just a liar.
09:29-09:29
Just made it up.
09:31-09:37
"Regardless, your faith is meaningless if there is no resurrection." It gets worse.
09:37-09:40
Letters C, write this down, your Bible is blasphemous.
09:41-10:16
He says, "We are even found to be misrepresenting God because we testified about God that He He raised Christ whom He did not raise, if it is true that the dead are not raised." Okay, so your Bible, if Christ didn't raise from the dead, your Bible isn't just meaningless, your Bible is blasphemous, because what you have is these writings from all of these people talking about a resurrected Christ, it's the message of the whole New Testament, and if that's not true, if they were wrong about the resurrection, I just have to ask myself what else are they wrong about?
10:17-10:18
Like you botched the big one.
10:21-10:22
What else are you missing here, pal?
10:23-10:24
So your Bible's blasphemous.
10:25-10:26
Letter D, it gets worse.
10:27-10:29
If there is no resurrection, there's no forgiveness of sin.
10:31-10:36
Look at verse 16, he says, for if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised.
10:37-10:41
And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.
10:43-10:45
There's no forgiveness of sins.
10:45-10:48
If Christ hasn't been raised, We still stand condemned.
10:48-11:00
Now, given that there is a holy God, which if Christ has not been raised, that kind of puts a question on our concept of who God is, really.
11:02-11:12
But let's just say that there is a God and someday we're going to have to stand before Him, we're going to have to give an account for all the wrong that we've done, and what leg would we have to stand on?
11:13-11:13
Truly.
11:16-11:18
There's no forgiveness of sin if there's no resurrection.
11:20-11:26
And then verse 18, jot this down, "Believers who have died are gone forever." Look at verse 18.
11:27-11:38
He says, "Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished." Like, what about all those people that we know that have believed and they died?
11:39-11:41
Well, if there is no resurrection, guess what?
11:41-11:43
They are gone forever.
11:44-11:45
Like, "Grandma?
11:47-11:51
Where's grandma now?" Grandma's gone forever.
11:51-11:53
You're never going to see her again.
11:53-11:54
She's gone.
11:57-11:58
If there's no resurrection.
12:01-12:02
Grandma's gone?
12:02-12:02
Grandma's gone.
12:05-12:12
And letter F, if there is no resurrection, Christians are the worst.
12:13-12:14
The worst.
12:17-12:18
Look at what it says.
12:19-12:20
Look at verse 19.
12:20-12:35
If in Christ we hope in this life only, meaning if Jesus is only good for my life on earth, not afterlife, if in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.
12:37-12:52
He's like, if there's no resurrection, We are the most miserable, pathetic, sorry excuses for human beings on the planet.
12:52-12:53
Like think about it.
12:53-12:57
If there's no resurrection, you are so lame.
12:58-13:01
When I say you, I don't mean that in general terms.
13:02-13:05
I mean you, you, you are lame.
13:06-13:07
You are pathetic.
13:08-13:10
Seriously, what are you doing here?
13:10-13:11
You're lame.
13:12-13:16
I mean, people are gonna be laughing at, "We got together for what?
13:16-13:25
We're spending money to be here for what?" People should be looking at us going, "What is wrong with those people?
13:26-13:26
Idiots!
13:32-13:36
Yay, Easter!" Well, look at verse 20.
13:37-13:50
He says, "But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep." He's like, "Enough of the what if stuff.
13:51-13:52
Let's deal with reality.
13:52-13:55
Christ did rise from the dead." And you know what that means?
13:55-14:00
That means all of these statements that he made, if you state them in the opposite, now they're true.
14:02-14:02
Right?
14:03-14:09
Because Christ rose from the dead, Preaching the gospel isn't meaningless.
14:11-14:12
It's life-changing.
14:14-14:16
Faith in Christ isn't meaningless, it means everything.
14:17-14:21
Your Bible isn't blasphemous, your Bible is the Word of God.
14:23-14:26
There is forgiveness of sin.
14:29-14:35
Believers who have died are in the presence of Christ eternally in heaven, and nothing can take that from them.
14:39-14:43
And maybe Christians aren't the worst after all.
14:44-14:51
Maybe we're not so dumb if we're casting our lot with the one who defeated death.
14:51-14:52
Maybe we're not so dumb.
14:52-14:57
Maybe we're not so pathetic if that's who we're aligning ourselves with.
14:59-15:01
So you have to consider the alternative.
15:01-15:04
And secondly, understand the order.
15:04-15:07
Like, okay, resurrection, when will it happen?
15:07-15:08
Look at verse 21.
15:10-15:24
He says, "For as by a man came death, "by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead." Specifically, what are you talking about, Paul?
15:24-15:32
He says, "For as in Adam all die, "so also in Christ shall all be made alive." That's Theology 101.
15:33-15:35
Adam brought sin into the world.
15:36-15:39
Garden of Eden, don't eat off of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
15:40-15:40
Remember that story?
15:41-15:47
And Adam and Eve, they disobeyed and they brought sin into the world.
15:48-15:57
So we are born sinners because our parents are sinners, whose parents were sinners, whose parents were sinners, tracing that all the way back to Adam and Eve.
15:58-16:03
He says, "But each in his own order." He's talking about the order of the resurrection.
16:05-16:06
Here's the order.
16:07-16:07
Catch this.
16:09-16:21
"Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ, then comes the end." That's the order.
16:22-16:23
First Christ rose from the dead.
16:25-16:38
Then the first fruits, that's, we're going to be talking about next Sunday what all this means, talking about the rapture and what the glorified body is like, that's next week, but that's next in line in the order here.
16:38-16:45
He says, "Then the end." That's everyone who has rejected God's grace.
16:46-16:52
Revelation 20 will be resurrected for an eternal body that will suffer forever.
16:55-17:17
Going on in verse 24, he says, "When he delivers the kingdom of God, the Father, after destroying every rule and every authority and power, for he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet." The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
17:18-17:22
For God has put all things in subjection under his feet.
17:22-17:30
But when it says, "All things are put in subjection," it is plain that He is accepted who put all things in subjection under Him.
17:31-17:44
When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subjected to Him who put all things in subjection under Him, that God may be all in all.
17:45-17:49
You're like, "What's He talking about there?" Here's just a quick paraphrase.
17:49-17:59
In eternity, when the dust settles, when everything's done with life on earth, Jesus Christ is going to assemble His bride.
18:00-18:06
From all time, all people, believers resurrected together, the bride is complete.
18:06-18:12
And what Paul's saying here, you know, God the Father wanted to provide a bride for His Son.
18:13-18:40
And as an act of love, the Son is going to present the bride and Himself back to the father." That's what he's saying. "So that God is all in all." And you're like, "Well, thank you, Jeffrey, for the theology lesson." But what does that mean to me? All this resurrection stuff, what's it mean to me? And the answer is everything.
18:42-18:49
Yes, there are theological implications. Yes, there are someday in heaven with grandma implications.
18:53-18:56
Typically when we talk about resurrection, that's where our minds go, right?
18:57-19:03
But I want to talk about today. I want to talk about right now. What is this, April 4th? Mark, is it April 4th?
19:03-20:08
You don't know? April 4th, okay, Darren says it's April 4th. All right. I want to talk about April 4th. Should have looked that up before I got up here. Today. The resurrection of Jesus Christ means everything about who you are and how you act and what you think and how you speak and what kind of attitude you're going to have today. It means everything today. And that's where I want to spend a few minutes. As we're talking about getting real about the resurrection. We've considered the alternative and we understood the order, but today I want to talk about living in the promise. What does it mean today? Here's what it means. We walk a new path. As we said in the beginning, the reality of the resurrection, when you embrace it, you can't go back. It changes you. And you can't go back to living the way the world lives, and when somebody truly gets to resurrection, the truth is they don't want to go back.
20:10-20:11
Like why would I go back to that?
20:12-20:16
Why would I be ushered to the throne of God and want to go back to living in the dumpster?
20:17-20:19
Why would I do that?
20:21-20:22
We walk a new path.
20:24-20:28
You're like, "Well, what kind of a new path?" We're going to go where the text goes.
20:29-20:31
We're just going to look at two things here.
20:34-20:42
Letter A, write this down, "My new path has no fear." My new path has no fear.
20:44-20:45
Look at verse 29.
20:48-20:53
Paul says, "Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead?
20:55-21:07
If the dead are not raised at all, why are people being baptized on their behalf?" And all of God's people said, "What?
21:11-21:20
What's going on with this verse?" There are literally dozens and dozens and dozens and dozens of interpretations of this verse.
21:22-21:23
I'm not going to get into that.
21:26-21:31
I just want you to look at the context, because I believe that the context determines the meaning of the verse.
21:31-21:38
If you come across a verse that you're like, "I'm not sure what it means," well, look at the context, and that'll show you what he means.
21:38-21:39
Look at verse 30.
21:39-22:08
He says, "Why are we in danger every hour?" Now, in some translations, verse 30 begins with the word "and." Or if you have a New American Standard Bible, it translates the verse this way, "Why are we also in danger every hour?" So the line of argument from Paul here seems to be persecution.
22:12-22:33
In other words, suffering because of the gospel even to the point of death, which by the way that happened in the first century and in some parts of the world ever since and is coming again across the board.
22:34-22:44
But in the first century when you were baptized, that marked you for death, due to the intense persecution.
22:45-23:04
What Paul's talking about here, when he talks about baptism on behalf of the dead, some translations say because of the dead or for the dead, what he's talking about here is people getting baptized because they came to Christ because of the influence of someone who was killed for their faith.
23:05-23:07
There's something powerful about that.
23:07-23:13
Like that guy was willing to die for Christ, and if he's willing to die, what's my commitment?
23:13-23:17
And people were coming to Christ as a result of this kind of persecution.
23:19-23:25
The living person was baptized for the dead, because of the dead.
23:28-23:30
So here's Paul's point, don't miss this.
23:32-23:36
Even if the phrasing isn't clear to us, I believe that the Corinthian church knew exactly what he was talking about.
23:39-23:51
But Paul's point is this, if there was no resurrection of the dead, and you knew that if you got baptized, somebody was going to kill you for your faith, he goes, "Why would anybody get baptized?
23:51-23:51
Really?
23:52-23:52
Why would anybody?
23:55-24:00
Why would I stand for Christ if there's no resurrection?" And then he illustrates this with his own life.
24:00-24:01
Look at verses 31 and 32.
24:03-24:10
He says, "I protest, brothers, by my pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord.
24:10-24:11
I die every day.
24:14-24:19
What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus?
24:20-24:28
If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." I was like, "I die every day.
24:29-24:34
Every day I'm staring down the barrel of the gun.
24:36-24:38
I'm staring down the edge of the sword.
24:39-24:40
Every day.
24:42-24:45
It is so real to me that it could be my last day.
24:45-24:48
It's so real to me." That's what he's saying.
24:50-24:54
So his point is, if there's no resurrection, why would I do that?
24:54-24:55
Why would anybody do that?
24:58-25:01
If there was no resurrection, standing for Jesus Christ would be idiotic.
25:02-25:04
I'm going to give my life for a dead guy?
25:05-25:06
Because that'd be dumb.
25:07-25:10
He says you might as well live it up, right?
25:10-25:12
You might as well, what did he say?
25:13-25:15
Eat and drink for tomorrow we die.
25:15-25:17
We might as well just live that way.
25:18-25:31
there's no resurrection, but when I really believe that Jesus Christ is alive, and when I really believe that I'm going to rise from the dead because of His promise, that's where the change comes.
25:31-25:39
Sharing the gospel, serving Jesus in His church, serving others in the name of Jesus, it matters for eternity.
25:40-25:43
So it doesn't matter what it costs me, even if it costs me my life.
25:47-25:48
Do you really believe in the resurrection of Jesus?
25:49-25:51
I mean, do you really believe that?
25:54-25:59
If you do, then you will serve Him without fear.
26:02-26:13
Now, if I would have made that statement a year and a half ago, it would have been met with a lot of ho-hum, affirmative nods.
26:14-26:15
"Yeah, that's really true, Pastor Jeff.
26:16-26:17
Serving without fear.
26:17-26:18
Preach it, brother.
26:19-26:20
Yeah, fear's a bad thing.
26:21-26:22
Fear is terrible.
26:23-26:24
Yeah.
26:24-26:27
Did you hear what the pastor said today?
26:28-26:30
That's really so true, isn't it?
26:30-26:31
That's just so very true.
26:34-26:36
But church, we're in a new season of life.
26:39-26:40
We're in no fear.
26:41-26:43
Isn't just a slogan we put on our pickup truck.
26:46-26:51
We're in a season of life where fear has gripped the world.
26:52-26:53
True or false?
26:56-27:01
And in most cases, the church has gotten sucked right into it.
27:04-27:05
I want you to hear me very closely.
27:08-27:10
Yes, COVID is real.
27:13-27:17
Yes, for a tiny percent of the population, it is serious.
27:18-27:24
And if you have a health condition or a health concern, then you need to do what you think is best.
27:24-27:31
So thank you to those of you who are streaming right now, especially the Zoom or small group, much love.
27:33-27:34
But I want you to hear what I'm saying.
27:38-27:39
COVID is real.
27:41-27:42
Do you know what else is real?
27:45-27:47
The recovery rate that you never hear about.
27:50-27:57
The COVID death number always in your face being padded by counting anyone who dies of anything.
28:00-28:05
The government and media's tireless efforts to spread fear.
28:07-28:11
Stop living, don't go to church, or see your family.
28:13-28:22
I'm not talking about a virus, and I'm not talking about you taking whatever measures you think you need to to protect yourself.
28:22-28:23
I don't care.
28:24-28:28
Wear a mask, wear two of them, whatever you need to do.
28:29-28:31
I'm not talking about that.
28:31-28:35
I'm talking about the fear that is being promoted.
28:36-28:37
That's what I'm talking about.
28:40-28:45
Because you can make efforts to protect yourself without living in absolute fear.
28:48-28:52
But the agenda that they're using is fear.
28:54-28:55
And the fear from the media is real.
28:58-28:59
You know what else is real?
29:02-29:07
Churches taking the spotlight off of Jesus Christ putting it on COVID.
29:08-29:18
I was talking to a friend of mine who heard of one pastor this past Christmas Eve, got up to preach about the Savior.
29:21-29:23
And who do you think he was referring to?
29:23-29:25
Christmas Eve, church service.
29:27-29:28
He was talking about the vaccine.
29:31-29:34
Churches are closing their doors because of fear.
29:36-29:43
I saw last week church membership in the United States of America fell below 50% for the first time in our country's history.
29:46-29:49
The fear in churches is real.
29:51-29:52
You know what else is real?
29:54-29:57
Pastors in Canada getting arrested for having worship services.
29:59-30:01
The real threat that that is coming here.
30:03-30:08
And the knowledge of some corrupt leaders that they can now control everything through fear.
30:11-30:19
The divisiveness and hatred that this subject has brought about among neighbors and even among strangers.
30:22-30:25
The fear in people is real.
30:27-30:28
Do you know what else is real?
30:31-30:40
The Great Commission, not shrinking back in fear when lost people living in fear need us the most.
30:43-30:45
The command to not forsake assembling.
30:48-30:52
The need to care for those in the church that are being affected by all of this.
30:54-30:55
Do you know what else is real?
30:59-31:31
resurrection of Jesus Christ. And it's only going to become more and more evident as the calendar pages turn who really believes the gospel is worth dying for, who really believes the gospel is worth being arrested for, who really believes that knowing Jesus Christ and knowing the power of his resurrection means I don't live in fear.
31:35-31:41
Church, I've got to tell you, you do you, but I'm not going to live in fear.
31:42-31:58
And you might say, "Well, Pastor Jeff, isn't that a bit reckless?" And I would say, "No, because this body is a rental." I believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead, and He's promised that for me.
31:59-32:01
I don't have a thing to be afraid of.
32:01-32:02
How about you?
32:04-32:05
My new path has no fear.
32:07-32:15
And finally, letter B. Just in case there's somebody not yet offended, letter B.
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"My new path avoids bad influences." My new path avoids bad influences.
32:25-32:26
Look at verse 33.
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He says, "Do not be deceived.
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Bad company ruins good morals.
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Wake up from your drunken stupor as is right.
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Do not go on sinning.
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For some have no knowledge of God.
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I say this to your shame." He's like, "Stop deceiving yourself.
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"Stop lying to yourself.
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"Bad company ruins good morals.
32:52-33:02
"You are influenced and become like "the people that you are closest to." That is a universal truth and there's nothing you can do about that.
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Look at your friends.
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If they're a bunch of knuckleheads, guess what you are?
33:08-33:08
You're a knucklehead.
33:09-33:10
You are loved, but you're a knucklehead.
33:13-33:21
But if you surround yourself with people that are wanting to know Jesus Christ and seek Him and be grace people, guess what you're going to be?
33:22-33:23
You're gonna be one of them grace people too.
33:26-33:30
You're like, "Wow, Jeff, that kind of seems like a random proverb.
33:31-33:44
You know, Paul's like on this stretch talking about resurrection and he's on track and he's really nailing the resurrection thing." And he's like, "Let's just stop for a second and throw a little random proverb in here for the kids." Like, no, it's not random.
33:46-33:47
It's not random.
33:47-33:50
I'm gonna show you where he's going with this.
33:52-33:54
Theology is caught, not just taught.
33:57-34:03
And as we said, the people you're most closely associated with are gonna have that impact on you, the biggest impact on you.
34:04-34:20
And if your closest friends aren't believers, you're going to embrace their values and their ways of thinking, and their ways of talking, and you're going to start living like them if you're not already.
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And that's contrary to the way of living that God has called you to.
34:26-34:27
See, everybody's a preacher.
34:29-34:30
Everybody is.
34:30-34:32
It's just the difference is the content of the sermons.
34:34-34:40
And if you hang around people that the resurrection isn't a big thing in their life, it's not gonna be a big thing in your life either, right?
34:43-34:45
Sleeping around, no begs.
34:47-34:48
Boozing and drugging, that's what we do.
34:48-34:51
We gossip, we lust, we complain.
34:51-34:58
If that's your inner circle, that's gonna be you, bro, sis.
35:00-35:02
You're like, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, hang on, Pastor Jeff.
35:02-35:06
This is the point where somebody right now is ready to throw up their hand.
35:07-35:08
I'm gonna help you here.
35:08-35:14
I'm gonna preemptively do it for you." Somebody's gonna throw up their hand and say, "Well, hang on Pastor Jeff, shouldn't we evangelize?
35:16-35:21
Shouldn't we be evangelizing those people?" We're called to reach the lost.
35:21-35:23
We're not called to get our theology from them.
35:26-35:37
That's why Paul said in verse 34, "Wake up, stop sinning." He says, "You're acting just like people that don't know God, people that don't live in the reality of the resurrection.
35:37-35:45
Shame on you." Because the people we're most closely associated with are going to have the biggest impact on us.
35:47-35:50
So listen, if you're not in a small group in this church, get in one.
35:52-35:54
Don't think about maybe later this year possibly.
35:55-35:57
No, you need it now.
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Surround yourself with people who are going to push you to Jesus.
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the days are upon us and increasingly so, we need each other, church.
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We need each other more than ever.
36:15-36:24
When you believed in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, everything that comes with that, you can't go back.
36:25-36:26
You can't unknow this.
36:27-37:52
You can't live as you've always lived and you can't view life and death the way the world does and you certainly cannot shrink back in fear nor should we get dragged down by bad influences because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ we church we walk a new path let's pray father in heaven it's only by your grace And we can take our next breath Father we live in a day We live in a day that we didn't really see a year ago a year and a half ago Father we know it's going to be harder and harder to stand for you And that's certainly you by surprise nor should it take us by surprise church that she would give us not an arrogance not some spirit of rebelliousness against the government or a spirit of bitterness against the media father I just pray that you would give us a spirit of confidence in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
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And what that means for us, that we are so wrapped up in this thought of someday being in your presence, someday receiving that glorified body.
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We're so wrapped up in that.
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We don't have time to worry about things we can't control.
38:25-38:34
And we don't have time to invest in the kind of influences that are going to turn us away from You.
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So Father, we're just asking that those who know You, that Father, You would strengthen our faith and resolve.
38:45-38:54
But Father, I pray for those that are sitting here or those who are streaming or even watching a recording of this later that don't know you.
38:57-39:00
I pray for them, Father, they truly would consider the alternative.
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That Father, you would use even the hardships that are ever increasing right now, to draw people to cry out to you, saying, "Father, we need the forgiveness and the life that Jesus Christ has offered.
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that Jesus Christ has purchased for us through the cross and through the empty tomb.
39:34-39:35
Thank you, Father.
39:37-39:39
Thank you for the glorious promises in which we stand.
39:42-39:44
We pray in Jesus' name, amen.
Small Group Discussion
Read 1 Cor 15:12-34
What was your big “take-away” from this passage / message?
Honestly - how much has fear affected you in the last year (1 Cor 15:31-32)? Why do you think that is?
How do you balance truly befriending lost people without becoming like them (1 Cor 15:33)
*(BONUS) What does (1 Cor 15:29) mean?
Breakout
Pray for one another. Pray for those who heard the Gospel message at HBC and surrounding churches.