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[0:00] Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. I greet you in the name of our risen Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ.

[0:10] ! It was our Lord's resurrection on the first day of the week that has made this day the Lord's day, our day of worship and celebration for his death and triumphant victory over the grave.

[0:24] Our Grace Fellowship family news is not a lot new to report. David Hart continues to need our prayers as he's not growing worse, but it's a long time to work through this virus.

[0:41] Continue your prayers for David. Maya down at Riley, her MRI showed no brain damage from the periods without oxygen. They've been trying to wean her off the ventilator and took the tube out Friday, but it was too soon and they had to re-intubate her.

[1:00] So that was a discouragement, but we have an encouraging God to seek. Some of you have seen layoffs and less hours, less pay, but Jehovah Jireh, our provider, has been more than enough for all of us.

[1:16] I'm going to ask that you open your Bibles this morning to 1 Corinthians chapter 15, and I'm going to read two portions from this great resurrection chapter.

[1:27] 1 Corinthians 15, beginning in verse 1. Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand.

[1:43] By this gospel you are saved. If you hold firmly to the word I preached to you, otherwise you have believed in vain. For what I received, I passed on to you as of first importance, that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter and then to the twelve.

[2:09] After that, he appeared to more than 500 of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James and then to all the apostles.

[2:22] And last of all, he appeared to me also as to one abnormally born. For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle because I persecuted the church of God.

[2:37] But by the grace of God, I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them. Yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.

[2:50] Whether then it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed. But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

[3:06] If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless, and so is your faith.

[3:18] More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God. For we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead, but he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised.

[3:30] For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile. You are still in your sins.

[3:41] And then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ. We are to be pitied more than all men.

[3:52] But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.

[4:07] For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive, but each in his own turn. Christ the firstfruits, then when he comes, those who belong to him.

[4:19] Then the end will come when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority, and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.

[4:33] The last enemy to be destroyed is death, for he has put everything under his feet. Now when it says that everything has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself who put everything under Christ.

[4:49] When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.

[5:01] And then over to verse 49. And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.

[5:12] I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery.

[5:25] We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

[5:39] For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true.

[5:55] Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law, but thanks be to God, he gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

[6:14] Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm, let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

[6:29] Let's pray together. Our Father in heaven, you are God most high. There's none like you.

[6:42] You are majestic in holiness. You're awesome in glory. Working wonders, wonders of creation, are all about us at this springtime.

[6:56] But the greater wonders are the wonders of your grace, that we, rebel sinners, should be loved by you such that you would send your one and only Son into this world to rescue us from our sin and from death and from damnation.

[7:13] Make that glorious wonder wonder of salvation more precious to us today. Lord Jesus, your church everywhere is in need of you and we are thankful that you are more than enough for us.

[7:27] Be with our congregation. With those that are in special need, we thank of David Hart in England and ask that you continue to strengthen his body. For Maya down at Indianapolis, strengthen her lungs, her little body as well.

[7:44] And in all these things, we want you to be glorified. We thank you for the way you've provided for our church family and ask that you continue to give us our daily bread and give us an expectation of good from your hands all because we are your children through faith in the Lord Jesus that you sent and we pray in his name.

[8:09] Amen. Amen. Well, with death on the march in our land and world and striking fear into many hearts, the Christian is able to stare death in the face and say, where, oh, death, is your victory?

[8:26] Where, oh, death, is your sting? For God gives us the victory over death through our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, that confidence is not reserved for a few really strong Christians like the Apostle Paul, but it's rather the birthright of every child of God joined by faith to Jesus Christ.

[8:48] Even these very imperfectly sanctified believers in Corinth, it included them. Dear believer in Jesus, however mature, however long you've been a Christian, this is your birthright too.

[9:00] And lost person, this could be your confidence if you would come to Christ today. It was an Easter Sunday when my father first cast his soul upon Christ and never lived to regret it.

[9:16] And may that be the testimony of some of you today. Now, we're familiar with 1 Corinthians chapter 15, the resurrection chapter.

[9:27] It was not written to convince the Corinthians about Christ's resurrection from the dead. They already believed that. It was an essential part of the gospel that Paul had preached to them and which they had believed and on which they had taken their stand.

[9:44] No, the problem in Corinth was not unbelief in the resurrection of Christ, but rather unbelief in the resurrection of the believer. We don't know for sure just how they denied the resurrection of the believer, but it's likely that the false apostles saw the body as weak and sickly, as a source of temptations, as a hindrance that drags us down.

[10:11] And indeed, it is that. But that's what they saw and so they taught that at death our spirits are set free once and for all from these troublesome bodies and released to this bodiless condition for all eternity.

[10:26] So the pinnacle of their hope was to be forever rid of the physical body. Good riddance. And some in the church at Corinth had believed this false teaching and found it attractive.

[10:40] This was a super spirituality that dismissed the body, not viewing it as a wonderful gift of God, not viewing it as something essential to our humanity, not as something to be redeemed through Christ, but as something to be discarded forever, never again to imprison our spirits.

[11:01] Now immediately, Paul sees what's at stake and he tells them that if you give up the bodily resurrection of believers, you've just given away the whole farm, the whole Christian religion for Christ's resurrection and the believers' resurrection are inseparably bound together.

[11:21] And so he says to them in verse 12, but if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there's no resurrection of the dead? If there's no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.

[11:36] And if Christ has not been raised, well then there's no Christianity. The whole fabric of the Christian faith becomes unraveled. Our preaching is useless. Your faith is futile.

[11:48] We are false witnesses. You are still in your sins and your loved ones who died in Christ are still lost and lost forever and we are to be pitied more than all men.

[12:02] You see, the resurrection of the body of believers is not a throwaway teaching. Lose that and you lose the resurrection of Christ and lose the resurrection of Christ and you lose the gospel and everything with it.

[12:15] So Paul confronts this heresy that denied the resurrection of the believer's body. And he does so by beginning by preaching Christ's resurrection.

[12:30] You see, our resurrection is inseparably linked to Christ's resurrection and both stand or fall together. Deny the one and you deny the other.

[12:41] Hold to the one and you hold to the other. So the task of the apostle here in chapter 15 then is not to prove the resurrection of Christ. They already believe that.

[12:53] Rather, he wants them and us to see how Christ's resurrection guarantees ours. So, Paul argues his point in several ways.

[13:04] I want to point out four different principles of argument. First is the principle of firstfruits. Verse 20. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep, as a reference to those who have died in Christ.

[13:22] Now, at harvest time in Israel, they would go out into their ripened fields and gather just a tiny sampling that they would then offer to the Lord and hold a feast of celebration and thanksgiving for God's blessing upon their fields.

[13:37] firstfruits. And no one was under any misconception that this was all that there was to the harvest, just this little bit. That would be more cause for mourning and sadness than for glad celebration.

[13:50] No, the firstfruits says there's much more where this came from. This is just the firstfruits of a full harvest waiting to be brought in. It's a part of the whole.

[14:03] And even so, Christ has been raised from the dead as the firstfruits of a whole harvest that is to come. He's the first to rise from the dead, never to die again.

[14:16] But he is by no means the last. There are many more to be harvested from the cemetery fields of this world. And so, the principle of firstfruits does not allow us to view Christ's resurrection in isolation from ours, but always in connection, his with ours, him the first part of the whole.

[14:40] Verse 23 says, but each in his own turn, Christ the firstfruits, and then when he comes, those who belong to him. Wonderful thing to belong to Christ.

[14:51] Here's my comfort in life and in death that I belong, body and soul, in life and in death, not to myself, but to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ, who at the cost of his own blood has fully paid for all my sins.

[15:08] I belong to Jesus. And there are people in their graves who belong to Jesus. They don't belong to death, so he's going to rob death of its prey.

[15:20] He's going to take back what is his own and reclaim all the dead in Christ. So we celebrate the resurrection of Christ with great joy because we know that his resurrection is the pledge and promise of ours.

[15:35] Indeed, the guarantee of all who belong to him. Jesus is not the last, but just the first of many to come forth from the grave to eternal life.

[15:47] So believer, Jesus' firstfruit resurrection guarantees yours. You see why we must rejoice then and be glad that Jesus, our Lord, is risen.

[16:02] Well, that's the principle of firstfruits. Secondly, Paul argues from the principle of representative headship. Verse 21, For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.

[16:18] For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. Now the Bible here and elsewhere clearly sets forth Adam and Christ as two representative figures and that the whole human race belongs to one or the other of these two men.

[16:39] This principle of representative headship is pictured in the showdown between David and Goliath. You have the armies of the Philistines and Goliath steps forward and says instead of both of the armies fighting as entire armies.

[16:55] Let each put forth our champion. I'll fight for the Philistines. You choose a man to fight for the Israelites and if he kills me why then we will all be your subjects, your slaves.

[17:08] But if I kill him then you all will be our slaves. So when David went to fight Goliath he was not fighting that day as a mere individual just for himself.

[17:23] More was at stake than just his own life. The future of all Israel was hanging upon a teenage boy with a slingshot. If he wins we all win but if he loses we all lose big time.

[17:40] And so in the same way a similar way Adam and Christ are both representative individuals. they did not act for themselves alone but for all that they represented.

[17:51] So there's Adam as the head of the whole human race. He represents all of them all of his descendants the whole family tree of Adam that's all of us.

[18:03] And Adam is put to the test in the garden when God said you're free to eat from any tree in the garden but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil for when you eat of it you will surely die.

[18:14] Genesis 2 16 and 17 So he's there in the garden as our representative. We were there in him the whole human race piggybacked upon Adam our first father and so when he fell we all fell and by falling he brought death into the world and that's why verse 21 says death came through a man.

[18:41] The wages of sin is death and it came through a man the man Adam and that's why verse 22 says in Adam all die.

[18:54] Romans 5 12 says the sin entered the world through one man and death through sin and in this way death came to all men because all sinned.

[19:06] But God in grace sent a second man a last Adam his own eternal son sent in the flesh and just as Adam represented all his people so Jesus Christ represented all his people all who belong to him by saving faith.

[19:22] He is the head of a new humanity. All those born of God redeemed by his precious blood. And so like Adam our representative Jesus was put to the test.

[19:35] And for over 33 years in this wicked world he was tempted and tried in all ways just as we are yet was without sin. And so he succeeds where Adam had failed.

[19:47] And his perfect obedience then has merited eternal life for himself as a reward. But not just for himself but for all that he represented.

[20:00] He shares the reward of eternal life that is his. He shares it with us. with all of his people who are piggybacked on him by saving faith.

[20:13] Why should I gain from his reward? I cannot give an answer but this I know with all my heart his wounds have paid my ransom. His obedience has gained resurrection not only for him to eternal life but for me to eternal life.

[20:33] And so I owe it all to him. I'm the beneficiary of the work of another even of Christ my representative head. So being in Adam we shared in his punishment of death but now being in Christ by faith we share in his victory over death.

[20:51] His victory is our victory. Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. And so that's why verses 21 and 22 say for since death came through a man the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man for as in Adam all die something we see every day is true.

[21:15] So in Christ all will be made alive. Christ being made alive from the dead then is the guarantee of resurrection to eternal life for all who trust in him.

[21:29] So the all important question is are you in Christ? Do you belong to him? You got into Adam by birth. You get into Christ by faith.

[21:40] Trusting in Christ alone to save you from your sins. So get into Christ today. You came in Adam today. Perhaps you can leave in Christ.

[21:53] Now two principles then. The third we're seeing how the believer's resurrection from the dead is inseparably connected to Christ's resurrection.

[22:05] The third is the domino principle. Now when we were kids we had a big set of dominoes but you know I don't remember ever playing the game according to the instructions.

[22:17] Rather we would set up the dominoes on end and put one after another about an inch apart and just wind that snake it around and cover the table until all the dominoes were set up and then when someone would push the first domino over if we had done it right all the rest of the dominoes would fall in a chain reaction.

[22:42] Well that's the domino effect. And in a similar way the resurrection of Jesus is the first domino to fall. It's the first domino that has set in motion a whole chain of events on God's calendar that must certainly be accomplished before the last domino can fall before the end can come.

[23:06] And one of those key events one of those dominoes that must fall is the destruction of death by raising all believers from the dead. That's a domino that must fall before the last one.

[23:20] So if the resurrection of Christ is here put forth as the first domino what's the last domino on God's calendar? Verse 24a tells us then the end will come when he, Christ, hands over the kingdom to God the Father.

[23:39] That's the end. That's the grand climax, the end goal toward which all of history is moving. This present age is to end with Christ handing over the kingdom to God the Father.

[23:52] God the Father. Now that's something I don't preach enough about. That's something I don't think enough about. I don't sing enough. I don't rejoice enough. I don't pray enough about.

[24:05] This handing over of the kingdom to his Father. What is this? Remember the kingdom is simply God's rule and God's reign.

[24:17] In our Sunday school series we saw that the kingdom of God is God's people in God's place living in harmony with God under his rule and blessing. And that's the way this world began.

[24:29] God's people, Adam and Eve, in God's place, his created world, and especially the garden, the center of his world. And they were living in harmony with God under his rule and blessing.

[24:43] But then Satan, out of envy for God and hatred for God and his people, entered into this world and through temptation he got Adam and Eve to sin against God, to join his rebellion against their maker, to reject his rule over them.

[25:03] And that brought Adam and Eve and the whole creation under God's curse so that sin and misery, destruction and disorder and disharmony and death now fill the world.

[25:17] John says that the whole world is now under the control of the evil one. So God's kingdom on earth was now in ruins with a usurper wreaking havoc.

[25:29] Now, this was no surprise to God. It was all part of his original decree and plan. And God so loved his fallen world that he was not about to give it up and scrap it on the garbage heap of history.

[25:44] Instead, he purposed to restore his kingdom on earth by sending a redeemer to save a remnant of sinners for his glory. It would be his own eternal son come in the flesh, the seed of the woman who was to crush the serpent's head.

[26:00] He would be the savior of the world, redeeming the whole cosmos. And so the father said to his son, son, you go into that world in rebellion.

[26:11] there in the midst of my enemies, rebuild and reestablish my kingdom on earth so that my kingdom will come and my will will be done on earth just as it is in heaven.

[26:27] You go and put right everything that's wrong. You go and restore all that Satan and sin has ruined. You go and destroy the works of the devil and make all things new, a new humanity, a redeemed race in a perfected planet, made the home of righteousness.

[26:46] Colossians 1, 19 and 20 says for God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in Christ. He was pleased through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood shed on the cross.

[27:07] So the father was pleased to have his son be the savior. To restore his kingdom on earth. And he put the whole plan for his kingdom restoration into the hands of his servant son.

[27:20] Here's son, you go and restore it. And he declared in Isaiah 53 10, 700 years before he sent him into the world, he declared that the will of Jehovah, the will of the Lord would prosper in his hands.

[27:36] He'll get it done. He'll restore my fallen kingdom on earth. And where Adam failed to subdue the whole earth under God's rule, my son will succeed and prosper.

[27:49] My will will prosper in his hand. So Jesus came and his gospel message was what? It was repent for the kingdom of God is at hand.

[28:01] And he starts gathering his people into his kingdom by repentance and faith in him. but most of his own countrymen wanted nothing to do with him.

[28:12] They didn't want him to be king over them. And so they crucified him. But he rose again three days later and by his death and resurrection he accomplished eternal redemption for his people and indeed to reconcile all things to God through his blood shed on the cross.

[28:31] And now he's ascended to God's throne. God said here sit at my right hand until I make all your enemies a footstool for your feet. So he's now reigning with all authority in heaven and on earth given to him.

[28:45] And he must reign until all his enemies are put under his feet. Well he's still gathering a people into his kingdom through the gospel witness.

[28:56] He's still calling men and women boys and girls to enter his kingdom while there's time and the door is open. It's urgent because he's coming back again to finish what he began. That is to restore God's kingdom and to establish and enforce his rule on earth.

[29:14] And verse 24 says then the end will come when he hands over the kingdom to God the father. Then after he has destroyed all dominion authority and power.

[29:29] Verse 24 goes on. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet and the last enemy to be destroyed is death. So the end will only come after he's destroyed all the powers of hell, the works of the devil, all demons, it will all be purged out of his kingdom, all worldly governments, all people that resist his will.

[29:56] And after he gains total victory over all his enemies with all of them judged and damned with not one enemy left standing, then the end will come. And notice the last enemy to be destroyed.

[30:09] It's death. And he'll destroy it by raising up all who belong to Christ. Never to die again, completely robbing death of its prey.

[30:24] Well, that was Jesus' mission. That was the mission of restoring God's kingdom on earth. He tells us in John 6, 38 and following, I've come down from heaven not to do my will, but to do the will of him who sent me.

[30:37] And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my father's will is that everyone who looks to the son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.

[30:55] this was the will of the Lord that was to prosper in Jesus' hand. He will raise up every believer, everyone given to him.

[31:09] So believer, your resurrection is so vital a part of God's plan of redemption that the end cannot come until the grave is made to give you up.

[31:21] If just one who belongs to Jesus is left in their graves, then death is not defeated. And God's plan of redemption comes short of its end goal.

[31:32] Jesus fails and death wins. Oh, but Jesus never fails. Never, never fails. I'm glad, so glad, Jesus never fails.

[31:43] And so the domino principle says that by his resurrection from the dead, Christ has set in motion a whole chain of events that must now happen before the end, and it includes your resurrection from the dead.

[31:59] And only then will Christ be ready to hand the kingdom over to the father, the kingdom perfectly restored from the tyranny of Satan and sin and death.

[32:13] Well, that brings us to the last principle, the conformity principle. What have we seen? we've seen the principle of first fruits, we've seen the principle of representative headship, we've seen the domino principle, and now fourthly, the conformity principle.

[32:39] And this is something that's found in our text, but it's found throughout the New Testament, that God's purpose in salvation is to conform his people to the likeness of our Savior.

[32:49] Savior. We find that in Romans 8 29, that those God foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

[33:02] That's the destiny of every child of God. We're going to bear the likeness of Christ. John says when we see him, we will be like him. Hebrews 12 23 says that even now the spirits of righteous men who have died and gone to be with Christ.

[33:19] Even now, their spirits have been made perfect like Christ. And our bodies as well are destined one day to bear his likeness. Philippians 3 21, the Lord Jesus, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

[33:42] And that's what Paul is saying in our passage about the resurrection body. We didn't have time to read the whole. People were wondering, well, what will these resurrection bodies be like?

[33:54] And the summary of it is given in verse 49, that just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, Adam, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven, the victorious Christ.

[34:10] So it's the difference between the body as it goes into the grave and the body as it comes out. We're talking now about believers, those who belong to Jesus. Their body goes into the grave bearing the image of Adam.

[34:24] It comes out bearing the image of Christ. He explains it in verses 42 and following. The body that is sown, it's planted in the ground, is perishable, but it's raised imperishable.

[34:39] It's sown in dishonor, in shame, but it's raised in glory. It's sown in weakness. It's raised in power. It's sown in natural body.

[34:50] It's raised a spiritual body, like Christ's own resurrection body. And then verse 54 says, when the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and when the mortal with immortality, immortality means bodies that can no more die, not even able to die, then the saying that is written will come true, and it must come true, because it's a saying of the Lord in Isaiah 25, 8, death has been swallowed up in victory.

[35:25] And when you swallow up something, it's gone completely, isn't it? There's nothing left. And this verse, death has been swallowed up in victory, it's not referring to Christ's resurrection, as glorious as that is, but it's referring to our resurrection, resurrection, the final swallowing up of death completely, so we can say with confidence, where, death is your victory, where, death is your sting.

[35:51] The sting of death is sin, because sin is what makes us guilty before a holy judge. And the power of sin is the law, and the law is that which condemns us to hell.

[36:04] But thanks be to God, he gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. As on the cross our sins were piled onto him, and he bore the curse of the law, and he rose triumphant over death, forever changing death for the believer.

[36:24] The sting is gone for us, the law's curse is paid, and death is now my entrance into glory. So the empty tomb says Jesus lives, and so shall I, death thy sting is gone forever.

[36:41] Our destiny of bearing the likeness of Christ requires, it mandates that believers' bodies be raised.

[36:53] His resurrection guarantees ours. That's where we will bear the likeness of the man from heaven. That's the victory that his resurrection gives us over death.

[37:05] And when that happens, the end will come. The last domino in this whole list will come as Christ hands the kingdom over to his father.

[37:17] What a scene that will be. The resurrected glorified Christ together with his glorified resurrected bride. Brothers and sisters, we will be there standing with Christ.

[37:29] He the firstborn among many brothers, among many brothers who are just like him now. He the firstborn, we a risen, redeemed race, now crowned with glory and honor, made holy like he is holy, perfectly bearing his likeness, sharing his resurrected glory in body and spirit, now being presented before God's glorious presence, without fault and with great joy.

[38:04] And Jesus will be looking at us, beaming with love and delight in us and he will say to the father, father, here I am and the children you have given me.

[38:17] Not one of them is missing. I brought them all the way to glory. And here's the world without a trace of the curse of death, of evil.

[38:29] here's the kingdom that you sent me to restore. Take the kingdom to yourself and reign and forever.

[38:40] We will be with the Lord, the one who loved us and gave himself for us. Well, that's the blessed hope to which the resurrection of Jesus is bringing us. Has he been raised?

[38:52] Then this is where it all ends with us being raised in glory and being with him as he presents us to the father. That scene is to be often in our minds and in our hearts.

[39:06] In fact, it's to change the way we face death and it's to change the way we face life. And that's where the chapter ends. Two ways this blessed hope ought to change your life.

[39:16] Number one, it ought to keep your feet planted. Verse 58, therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. deceivers, false teachers, pushing, pulling, trying to move you away from the gospel that was delivered to you.

[39:35] That Christ died for our sins according to the scripture, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day with a resurrection that now guarantees ours. You've taken your stand on that glorious gospel.

[39:49] Now don't move an inch. Be steadfast, immovable, whatever winds of doctrine are blowing contrary to the truth as it is in Jesus. And secondly, always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord.

[40:05] Verse 58 goes on. So the resurrection is to change the way that you work for the Lord. It's to make you wholehearted, all in, all the time.

[40:18] Whatever your work for the Lord is, whatever your Lord has you doing for him here, obeying his commands, being a father, a mother, a husband, a wife, a child, a student, a worker at the job, doing your chores, your work at church, your work with your neighbors, the work of the Great Commission.

[40:40] What is it that he's called you to do or to suffer for the Lord? That's what you're to give yourselves fully to always. And the resurrection is a powerful motive and reason to always give yourself fully to it, to never be lacking in zeal, to always be fervent in spirit, serving the Lord in whatever you're doing.

[41:05] And here's why. Because you know, this is how he ends the chapter, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. It's not for nothing.

[41:17] It's not without gain. There's no lost labor here. It's not without reward. It's not lost effort. It's not struggle for nothing. It would be in vain if there was no resurrection, if death was the end.

[41:33] But we know it isn't for us, because Christ, the firstfruits, our representative head, has been raised, and we will be raised with him.

[41:47] His resurrection guarantees ours. See, the sovereign Lord comes with power, and his arm rules for him. See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him.

[42:02] Your labor will be richly rewarded when he comes to be glorified in his holy people, and to be marveled at in all those who have believed, and this includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.

[42:15] it's that because you know your labor's not in vain, that you should persevere, and persevere in every task that he gives you to do, every command to obey, every suffering to endure, and persevere with patience and joy, because of the hope, the hope of the glory of God that's coming.

[42:38] Jesus lives, and so shall I. Let's pray together. Holy Father, thank you for your great mercy that has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never spoil or fade, reserved in heaven for us.

[43:07] We are amazed, this is all of grace, we forfeited by our sin every good gift from you, and you've given us the best gift, Jesus Christ and eternal life in him.

[43:19] Thank you for sending him for us. Thank you that you empowered him and enabled him to obey you and to die on the cross for us, and that you raised him again for us, and he's ascended to heaven, and he's right there at your right hand, right now ruling and still putting enemies under his feet until the last enemy death has been defeated, and we have been raised from the grave.

[43:47] And then we will be presented as a part of this kingdom handed back to you, oh Father, perfectly restored in Christ.

[43:59] And so we worship you, we worship your son, we worship your spirit, and we pray that this wonderful truth of his resurrection guaranteeing ours would keep us from being moved from the gospel, from any truth of the gospel, but especially this truth of our resurrection, and Lord, that you would cause that to motivate us, that we're going to see you one day in a renewed body and spirit, too wonderful to even imagine what it will be like as we shine with the glory of Christ himself, and you share your glory with us, so keep that before us, may it be our happy, our blessed hope, and we ask these mercies, and ask that you would draw others to rest in this Christ, and to receive salvation in him today, we ask it in Jesus' name, amen.