Let's go to the Lord again in prayer. Gracious Father, we do indeed thank You for Your great power. Thank You for Your wisdom, for Your sovereignty, And I pray, my God, that you would bless us to continually trust in you in all times, for all occasions, in every situation. We know that you are the true and the living God. We know that beside you there is no other God. Your ways are so far above ours as the heavens are above the earth. And there are many things in life that we do not understand, and many of Thy dealings we do not understand. But we trust You, and yet we would pray for grace to trust You more. Even as we sang, we do need you every hour. And we do desire that you would abide with us. As the hymn said, not to just sojourn, but to dwell. And I pray, my God, that you would bless us to live in such a way that we would not hold thee at arm's length. And I pray that you would bless us to honor and serve you all the days of our life. And yes, we do look forward to that grand and notable day. when the Lord shall come, shall resurrect our bodies, and we shall dwell with Him forever. I pray that you would bless us now as we look into the Holy Scriptures, and that we might bring forth that which is pleasing to you honoring and glorifying unto you. Help us, our God, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Have your Bible turned to Mark chapter 16. I got up this morning thinking that My message this morning will be on one topic. But as the morning continued, my mind began to change. And so, I'm going to preach on the resurrection of Christ. If I had a title, it would be, He is Risen. You know, I'm not much of a holiday preacher, but this is one holiday that is around the time that the Lord was crucified and rose again. It was around the time of Passover. It has to do with the the time of the just this basic time from the seasons and things of that nature is not like the end of the year holiday that has no continuity or anything about it that's even close to scripture and I know the word Easter is mentioned in the Bible in the book of Acts but it literally should be Passover King James, being a Catholic, maintained the Catholic traditions in the translation along that line, and therefore they were pretty well compelled to translate that word accordingly. Though I'm a King James man, I think it's one of the best translations of the English language, if not the best. But the resurrection of Christ is true. Now let's read here in Mark chapter 16. A scripture reading was in John 20, and I want us to get a little bit more of some of the details. And when the Sabbath was passed, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome had brought sweet spices that they might come and anoint him. And very early in the morning, the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulcher at the rising of the sun." Now remember in John, uh... mary had already been there uh... and so we're not going to try to reconcile all of this it would take uh... couple of sermons at least to do that and they said among themselves who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulcher and when they looked They saw that the stone was rolled away, for it was very great. And entering into the sepulcher, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment, and they were frightened. Peter and John saw too. So we've got two different scene, occasions going on here. And he saith unto them, be not afraid. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified. He is risen. That's the title. He is risen. He is not here. Behold the place where they laid Him. But go your way and tell His disciples and Peter that He goeth before you into Galilee. There shall you see Him as He said unto you. And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulcher. For they trembled, and were amazed. Neither said they anything to any man, for they were afraid." Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils. And she went and told them that had been with him as they mourned and wept. And they, when they had heard that he was alive and had been seen of her, believed not. After that, he appeared in another form unto two of them as they walked and went into the country, that recorded in Luke 24, the two on the road to Emmaus. And they went and told it unto the residue. Neither believed they them. Afterward, he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was arisen. And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned. I guess I'll go ahead and read the end of the chapter. And these signs shall follow them that believe. In my name shall they cast out devils. They shall speak with new tongues. They shall take up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them. They shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, He was received up into heaven and sat on the right hand of God. And they went forth and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word with signs following." Amen. The resurrection of Christ is a truth that have cost men their lives. And in fact, people are still dying today for their faith in Christ Jesus. The reason those 147 students were killed in Africa this past week or week before last, I forget exactly what day, Because of their faith. Because of their faith. I heard some statistics yesterday. I thought I was going to try to remember them. Prior to the United States going into Iraq, I forget how many millions of Christians there were. Now it's something like 700,000 left. The rest have been, many of them, murdered and killed and so on for their faith. And many other statistics could be given. But I want to focus our attention upon the doctrine of the resurrection, centering around that of the Lord Jesus Christ. And with that I want to go to I Corinthians chapter 15. Jesus is alive. Now I know what I'm going to say, you know these things in your head, but I pray God would sanctify the words to our hearts. In I Corinthians chapter 15, beginning at verse 12, Now if Christ be preached that He rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? Now there's a lot of people, even people that claim to be Christians, who say that there is no resurrection of the dead. They will say the doctrine of the resurrection they believe as a concept, but they do not believe that Jesus Christ literally came out of the grave just as George Washington was president of the United States. They don't believe it as a historical accuracy. Now, I read that in a fundamentalist research poll back 40 years ago, and that was given among fundamentalist preachers. The majority of them didn't believe it. I knew a man. I don't know whether he's still alive or not. He used to be a primitive Baptist. He wound up in a Methodist old folks home. I can't think what the nice words are for it today, but anyway, nursing home as a chaplain comforting old folks as they were dying, but he didn't believe the resurrection. First time I heard him preach, I knew that he was going that route and tried to warn some, but they thought I didn't know what I was talking about. In fact, I wasn't even ordained. But it doesn't take much to realize and know where a person is going when they make certain statements. Verse 13, But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen. If there is no resurrection, If there is no resurrection of you and me, and I'm not talking about right now the resurrection of the righteous, though that's what we normally think about, but every human being will be resurrected. And they will either be with the Lord in glory or they will be in a place of torture and torment forever and there is no relief. I read something or heard something, I don't know which it was not too long ago that made me think that there might be something to that. You know, hell is not going to be a place where everybody is having a good time. And it may very likely be that hell will be a place where people will not be suffering together. But they would be suffering somewhat individually, more like people would think about solitary confinement. You know, if you're in company with someone and they're going through a hard trial and you're going through that same hard trial, there's some type of a camaraderie and some comfort in that, that you've got somebody else suffering the same thing. There won't be any comfort in hell. But I don't want to focus on that. I want to focus on the fact of the glorious reality of the resurrection. I wish somehow I could take what's in my mind and heart and incorporate it into your souls But I can't. But if Christ is not risen... Let me read a few more verses because I'm going to be saying the same thing. And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised. And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain, yet in your sins. And they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished." I preached about this recently, but if I eat a good steak, I like another one. I'm not satisfied with eating a steak once. This is one of the most glorious doctrines, and one that I love dearly, and that is the resurrection, the subject of the resurrection. If Christ did not rise from the grave, there will be no resurrection. Today is not a day for the worship of Ashtar with their Easter egg hunts. Today is not a day of new clothes and fineries, and some of you just happened to have a new dress and come today, that's all right. Nothing wrong with the new clothes. But that's not my point. I remember being raised, and we were not necessarily a religious family in the earlier days of my life, There was always some new clothes of some sort, and we went to church on Easter Sunday. I remember going, this is after I had a discussion with my mother about what she believed. My mother was religious, and we were discussing the doctrine of election. I said, I'll never believe that. I didn't tell her that. I have more respect and honor to her than to say that to her face. But as I drove away on an Easter Sunday to worship with a friend in a Methodist meeting place, And we had the Easter egg hunt afterward in the cemetery. Everybody thought it was somewhat quite special that my friend and I found a rabbit's nest with a bunch of baby rabbits in it. Everybody got all excited about that. Now I don't remember what the preacher said. I don't remember anything other than I remember the conversation with my mother. I remember my adamancy against truth. And I remembered the Easter egg hunt and finding the baby rabbits. That's not what the resurrection is all about. And yet, the majority, sad to say, the majority of professing Christians, that's all they can think about. And that's sad. My heart grieves for people that are in such bondage. This is glorious. The Lord Jesus Christ, who was dead, He was dead and He died for our sins, rose again, rose again. A dead body came out of the grave. That is an impossibility for man to do. There are people today that are freezing their bodies, hoping for a cure that someday they'll be brought back to life and they'll live forever. That's not going to be. I believe in eating healthy. And you can read healthy material, or you can see healthy videos, or hear healthy speeches, and some of these folks will give you the idea that if you will just eat a certain way, you will live forever. That is a lie. You are not going to live forever. You are going to die. Your body is going to wear out. But we are of those who are not of all men most miserable, because Paul goes on to say in this epistle that if we only have hope in this life, we are of all men most miserable. We are not miserable. I don't have only hope in this life. I have hope in the resurrection of the dead. I have hope in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. And I look forward in many ways to death. I don't mean that in a drudgery way, but I cannot think of anything more glorious than being with my Lord Jesus Christ. I cannot think of anything more, a greater blessing to be in a state where you do not sin. No, I'm not talking to you some pie in the sky. If what I'm talking about is not true, I'm a liar." You say, well, how can you prove that? Well, it was proven by many in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ Even a 500 at one time, you say, well, I don't believe the Bible. Well, I can't prove it to you. Either God will put faith in your heart and you'll believe it, or He'll leave you in your doubting state and you'll go to hell. Now, it seems hard and it seems crude, but that's the reality of it all. I take great delight in the resurrection. And yet, you know, you wonder, you wonder, when the Lord returns, is He going to open all of those graves? Or is He just going to put everything back together and the body come out, as our Lord did when he entered into the room that night with the disciples and the door was shut. I don't know. I seemed, I probably would, if I were forced to have to admit to one, I would probably take the latter. Because people that have been buried at sea, I don't know that there'll be a hole in the water. And I don't know how all of that will be, but it will be. The older I get and the more I serve the Lord, the more profound the doctrine of the resurrection is to me. Like the song says, sometimes it causes me to tremble. Not with fear, but with delight. This past week I've had some mighty sweet times with my Lord. And if we're not risen, Christ didn't rise. Now that's a fact. Your resurrection and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ depends on the fact of whether, if one is true, the other is true. If one is false, the other is false. And if any one of them is false, we're fools for being here. We're fools for being here. I don't consider myself a fool. Paul said, as we've already read in verse 15, Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ. For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised. And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain, and you are yet in your sins." Notice this. Paul still says, if there is no resurrection, you're still a sinner. And you will die in your sins. Like I said, I wish I could convey what's in my soul, but I can't. Let's drop on down. Verse 35. But some man will say, how are the dead raised up? Fool. thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die." Now I don't think Paul is using this word fool in its fullest sense. I've thought this. Even reading and studying and preaching on these verses, I still sometimes think, aren't the dead raised? How did he do it? Talking about the details, not the reality or the truth of it. But he uses nature. That which thou sowest is not quickened except it die. One of the earliest things that you learn in science usually as early as the sometimes the third or the fourth grade particularly maybe even the second that you can and a lot of times they'll do that in class they'll students will bring a seed and they'll put that seed in a little cup and They call it the process of germination. But the seed dies. Kind of rots. Decays. That is the outer shell and some of the other parts. I do remember the two little leaves are called cotyledons. I don't remember much of the other parts, but anyway, that's the process. It dies. We're going to die. We're the seed. You are the seed of what you will be when you're resurrected. You are the seed of what you will be in the resurrection. Verse 37, "...and that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, that ye may chance of wheat, or of some other grain." You put a grain of wheat in the ground, that grain dies, and a wheat stalk comes up, and when it gets towards maturity, it's going to have two or three heads on it, And then each head will have, I don't know, I'll just make up a number, say 25 to 50 grains on it. Now think about that. One seed produces a lot. You think about an apple tree that comes from one seed. And how many apples may come off of that one apple tree? How much fruit? I mean, I basically eat an apple just about every day, and I see apple seeds about every day. I never stop and think about the resurrection. I ought, maybe I will a little bit more now, to think about in that seed. is a body. In you is a body. In you is life. Let's put it that way. If that seed doesn't have life, it will rot and it will produce nothing. But that seed that has life will bring forth a body. There is life in you. And it's either spiritual life or it's only natural life, but it's going to bring forth a body. There's life in you. That's who you are. Your body holds you back from being what you want to be sometimes. You know, a young man may be born kindly unpleasant to look at. He might want to be handsome, but he can want it all of his life. It's not going to happen. I've wanted sometimes to run faster or be better in sports than what I was. I just couldn't do it. Hindered, hindered. But my life, dearly beloved, for the Christian, his life is going to be released in the resurrection to do things he's never even thought of. And I'm not talking about athletical prowess. I'm talking about his soul is going to be set free to worship God like you've never even thought about. Let me read on. But God giveth it a body, as it is pleased him, and to ever cede his own body. You see that? There's a lot of science in that, and if people would believe the Bible, it would save a lot of money. All flesh is not the same flesh. There is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of fish, and another of birds. You can't mix a fish with a bird, and a bird with an ape. They're different flesh. The Bible says so. And men's flesh is different from animal flesh. We're not animals, we're humans. I know we're animated. I know what they mean by that, but there's a difference. There are also celestial bodies and bodies terrestrial. And sometimes when a celestial body comes in contact with a celestial body, it causes chaos. A meteor coming from the sky is hitting the earth. They don't habitat in the same place. The glory of the celestial is one, the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, another glory of the stars, for one star differs from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection. We're not all going to be the same. There is going to be people that will be greater than you are. Their glory is going to be different from your glory. And there are some that may have a glory of the moon, and others may have a glory of a star, and another may have the glory of the sun, and another may have the glory of a planet. I'm just using that for illustration. You say, what do you mean by that? The only thing I mean is what I'm saying. Don't read into it more or less. Well, are you saying that some people are going to be better than others? No, nobody will be better than another. We'll all be in the Lord Jesus Christ and saved by Him and by His righteousness alone. And we all will have the same righteousness. Nobody will be more righteous than another. But does it not say that the 12 apostles will be sitting on thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel? Now, when has that happened? You say, well, that's not what I think about the resurrection than reading the Bible. Does it not say in Revelation about the holy city, the kings of the earth do bring their glory into it? You say, well, what's it going to be like? I don't know. I cannot go beyond what the Scriptures say, but I will not water it down and say it doesn't mean what it says. Jesus said, in my Father's house are many mansions, many abiding places. If it were not so, I would have told you. I'm going to have a place to abide. You say, will you need it? Will it have a bed? I don't know what it will have. I just know there's a place. There's a place for me. I have a reservation in heaven, Peter says, that fades not away. It's not a cloud, it's not an idea, it's not a thought. It's a place, a real place. And I'm going to be there in this body, resurrected. I probably would have been maybe worse than the disciples. When the women went and told and said that He's risen, something's wrong. And I fear that sometimes I've heard and read and studied and talked about the doctrine of the resurrection so much that it becomes just another story. God forbid that it should do that. It should strike a chord in our heart. Yes, it is sown in corruption. A dead body stinks. Now I've never smelt a dead human, but I know of. I've smelt other dead carcasses being raised on the farm, and it's sure not a good smell. I understand that the human body smells worse than any of the other bodies. I don't know that, but it's sown in corruption. We're living in a corruptible body. It's the reason you have wrinkles. It's the reason you have aches and pains, colds. You'll be raised incorruptible. Former things will be passed away. It is sewn in dishonor. There's nothing honorable about our bodies. Cosmetic world, Hollywood, entertainment, it's all based on honoring of the body to a great deal. Sewn in dishonor. raised in glory. Raised in glory. What's that going to be like? What do you think about when you think about raised in glory? Is it going to illuminate? I don't know. Let me see if I can find it right quick. Hold your finger there, but I want to go to the book of Luke for just a second. Like I said, my mind changed on the way here, so I don't have any notes this morning. And that's all right. I pray God I'm never a slave to notes, but I don't mind using them. Anyway, when Peter, James, and John went up on the Mount of Transfiguration with our Lord, it said that Moses and Elijah appeared there with Him in glory. The glorious illumination that I can remember is that of the Lord when it said that His raiment was as white as fuller's soap. But anyway, I'll have to look that up for you later. You can look it up. But I don't remember anything being said of Moses and Elijah glowing. any radiance coming out from them. That may have been, I don't know. All I'm trying to say is when there's not any indication that we're going to be just like a blinding light. Remember when the angels would come and appear to different people throughout in the Scriptures? You know, there were the Lord and two angels appeared to Abraham before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. There was no indication that these angels were illuminating, radiating light out from themselves. Now some of them may have been, but we don't know that, you know. I don't remember all the passages. I haven't studied angeology in a long time. But you're going to be resurrected. And you're going to be in your body. We're going to be like Him. We know not what we shall be. But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him. 1 John tells us in his first epistle, chapter 3. We shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. The disciples, unless their eyes were holden, as the two on the road to Emmaus for a while, and Mary Magdalene there for a few moments, Unless their eyes were holding, the disciples knew Him immediately. Peter, James, and John knew Moses and Elijah and knew the difference between the two. How? Did they announce who they were? Or did the Lord say, here's Moses and here's Elijah? Why did the Lord appear there with only Moses and Elijah? Why not David? Oh, I love the sovereignty of God. Someone said, well, that just shows to demonstrate the law and the prophets. Well, it may be. I don't know. Sounds good. Good answers anybody could give. May very well be. But Moses and Elijah were not resurrected. Not in the final resurrection. You know why? Because 1 Corinthians 15 tells us that Jesus Christ was the firstfruits of them that slept, verse 23. But every man in his own order, Christ the firstfruits, afterwards they that are Christ at His coming. I think Moses and Elijah were resurrected just like Lazarus. Or just like the widow's son that our Lord resurrected from the dead. Or like Tabitha that was resurrected from the dead. And some of the others, they later on died. They were resurrected temporally, not eternally. Temporally and not eternally. we're going to be resurrected eternally. I would not want to live on this earth forever in a temporal body. Well, time is getting away. Verse 51. Behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment. Not in the wink, but in the twinkle of an eye. In the twinkling of an eye at the last trump. You remember when the Lord brought the children of Israel to Mount Sinai? What did they hear? A trumpet. Blasting loud and long. Someday, God's going to blow the trumpet. The last trumpet shall sound. The trumpet is going to sound. For the trumpet shall sound. Notice that. Paul's emphatic. Paul didn't say, when the last trump, oh, I'm talking about the last day or something like that. Don't take this literally. He says, at the last trump, for the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible. And we shall be changed in a moment by the twinkling of an eye. I used to think that being in the graveyard would be a good place when the Lord comes back to see all those people come out of the grave. But notice what it says. The dead's gonna be raised first, and we shall be changed, but it's all gonna be how? In a twinkling of an eye. They may come up first, but we're gonna be changed so quickly, we won't have a time to sit there and say, ah, other than the fact that our own change, maybe, or the whole thing. Yes, beloved. He is risen. He is risen. And I stand before you with all confidence that someday I shall be resurrected. Oh, I know that I may be alive when the Lord comes back. We all like to think that it's going to be real soon. I really kindly think things are going to get a whole lot worse, not only for this nation, but worldwide. I think the Great Depression is going to be nothing compared to what we may see. Hope I'm wrong. Very likely I'm going to die. But if not, that's okay, too. I won't be disappointed if I'm wrong. but I shall be resurrected. And I can hardly wait, but I will. Let's pray. Holy Father, what sublime truths And I pray that the reality of what we have been talking about will captivate the heart and soul of everyone who hears this message. Because unless you do, unless you bless in that way, It'll just be some dry words that we've heard before. And I know that. Many times I read and think about this, and it's dry to me. Forgive me such cold heart. But I thank you that from time to time that you immerse our souls in the sublime truth, not only of the resurrection, but of Christ himself and of you, even of the Holy Spirit. Yea, even your creation sometimes, though it's marred and scarred by the result of sin. Thank you, Father, for being there. Thank you for being real. And thank you for the blessing of looking forward to the coming of the Lord. That has not always been the case, as thou knowest. In Jesus' name, amen.