You folks have a lot of little ones. That's great to see. What's just a few? At Forest Park Bible Church, we have a couple little ones, and it's wonderful to see them. And I guess it's Mother's Day. Now, the message today isn't going to be about Mother's Day. I did that last year at Forest Park Bible Church, and I didn't do a very good job of it, so I figured I'd just stick with something else. Regarding Mother's Day and what you were saying, what Sheila was saying about the abortion bill, that's something very important that we have to be praying about. You know, life is precious. You know, it's a gift from the Lord. And to take it away from someone who hasn't even been able to take a breath is, is awful, especially as we, what we as a society do it for, we do it as an offering to the idol of convenience. You know, it's just, it's a shame. And, you know, I stand before you as someone who's, when I was in my mother's room, her doctor told her to abort me because they said I was going to kill her. And yet, my mother, I love her very much, you know, she said, I'm not going to do that. And here I stand. And before you and my mother, you know, she's still alive and I enjoy seeing her every day. But anyway, a few weeks ago, or not a few weeks ago, a few days ago, excuse me, if you were watching the news, on a little hill in Rome, you probably saw some man in a funny-looking red hat step out onto a balcony, and he said the words, if I remember right, habemus papum, we have a pope. And I'm sure none of you were like those in the square there, shouting and celebrating, because to us, it's not habemus papum, my Latin isn't very good, but habemus papum? I don't know. They have a pope. We have no pope. But as that's happening, and especially here in St. Louis, as this new Holy Father, as they like to call him, is from the Midwest. He's not, you know, actually, I think he started in his priesthood here in St. Louis. You know, we're having a lot of, you know, there's a lot of talk from the Roman Catholics, and we live in St. Louis, which is a little Rome in the Midwest. But it got me thinking about a story that I heard once. And how many of you are familiar with Harry Ironside? He was a preacher, late 1800s, early 1900s. And he was an excellent man, an excellent theologian. And he has this little book. It's called Random Reminiscing, something like that. But the first story in it is called An Interview with a Franciscan Monk. And in the story, he's talking about how he was up in Canada, in Western Canada, and he was on a train. And he was traveling to some speaking engagement. And he was sitting there with his family, and he saw this monk get on the train. And he could tell that it was a monk because of the way he was dressed. He was in his habit, the whole garb. And the monk, he was kind of quiet and reserved. And he got on the train, and no one was making room for him to sit with, for him to be able to sit down. And he finally made his way to the back of the train, where he was trying to sit on the box where they stored the wood for heating the train, and heating the car. And Ironside, he, with his family, he realized, well, you know, we could rearrange our luggage, and we could make room for him, so he did. He invited the monk to come sit with him and his family, and they spent the whole day together on this train ride. And at first they talked about some silly things like, oh, the weather's been great. It's beautiful out. It's a little hot. But then they started to talk about some more serious things. The monk was asking, well, what brought you up here? And Ironside, he said, well, what brings the two of us up here is very similar. And he said, Ironside, who was a Plymouth Brethren minister, he said, I'm a minister, I'm a priest of the Holy Catholic Church. Ironside said that. And, you know, he was sitting there, you know, probably dressed a little nicer than I am. You know, people dress nice back then. And he had his wife and children there with him. And you can see where the monk was probably confused. And he said, oh, that's funny, you're joking with me. And Ironside, he said, no, I'm a Catholic priest. And he took him to Scripture and showed him, you know, places in Scripture that talked about the universality of the church and the priesthood of all believers. And that sort of piqued the interest of the monk. And they spent the whole day on this train ride talking with each other about what Protestants believe, what the Roman Catholic Church believes. And they had a very wonderful conversation. It was friendly. And by the end of it, they got off at the same stop. And they were continuing their conversation, and they were walking, you know, his wife and kids, Ironside's wife and kids, went to be with the people that were picking him up, while the two priests, they were walking along and they were continuing their conversation, and they got to the point where they could go no further because they had to part ways. And the monk, he said, you know, you've spent this whole day telling me what Scripture has to say, and I'll admit to you, I don't know Scripture that well. I know the Holy Fathers, or I know the Church Fathers pretty well. I wish you would come back with me to the monastery, and we'll go to the library, and I'll show you what the Fathers have to say, and maybe that will help clarify what I believe. And Ironside said, no, I have a speaking engagement later tonight, but you're welcome to come with me. And the monk said, well, I can't. I have business at the monastery. And he said, the monk said, I've really enjoyed this day that we've spent together and all the conversations that we've had. I don't expect that we'll ever see each other again, but I will pray for you, and I hope that you will pray for me." And Ironside, he responded, We will see each other again. Surely, we will see each other again. It's a guarantee. And he said, on one of two occasions, we'll see each other again. And, you know, the monk, he said, oh, heaven or hell, right? Surely, that's what you're talking about. And the iron say, he said, no, I'm talking about two points in time when we might see each other again. And we will see each other on one of these two points. And he said, the first point where we might see each other, where I hope to see you, my new monk friend, is when the Lord returns. And he took him to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, where Paul talks about how the dead in Christ will rise first, and those who remain will be caught up into the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so will be with the Lord always. And Ironside said, I hope that you'll be there. I hope that if your trust is in Christ. If your trust is not in Peter, or the lineage of Peter that you claim, if your trust is not in the church, if it's not in your works, if it's not in the sacraments, if it's not in any of those things, but if it's in Christ, no matter the ecclesiastical differences, you'll be there, and we'll see each other as the dead in Christ rise, and those who remain are caught up in the air to meet the Lord. And he said, I hope to see you there. But if your hope, if your trust is not in Christ alone, but you're trusting in the church, if you're trusting in the sacraments, if you're trusting in your works, if you're trusting in Mary, anything else, I won't see you that day, but it'll be another thousand years before I see you." And the monk, he was curious, and he just wasn't sure what he was talking about. And Ironside said, well, because after after Christ takes up the church, then there will be seven years of tribulation, according to what I believe scripture says, and he says then Jesus will return and set up his kingdom, which will last a thousand years. And at the end of that, there will be a great judgment. And where death and Hades will give up their dead, and they'll all stand before Christ and be judged, and those people will be cast into the lake of fire, which is the second death. And Ironside said, if I don't see you at the first one, if I don't see you at the rapture, I will surely see you then. And Ironside said, it's not because I'll see you because I'll be there standing next to you. It's because you'll be standing before Christ. And I, along with the rest of God's elect, with those who are saved, will be standing with Christ, not being judged, but standing alongside Him in judgment. And He said, I will look for you in those crowds of people if I don't see you at the first occasion. And I will see that awful, painful look on your face as you hear Christ say those words, you know, depart from me, I never knew you. And Ironside, he said, you know, once again, don't be there at that second occasion. Let me see you at the first one. Let your faith, your trust, your belief be entirely in Christ and His blood." And the monk, he eventually, you know, before they departed, he made a profession that was, my trust is entirely in Christ. It's in His blood. He is my rock, not Peter, not Peter. Christ is my rock. And they departed as friends. And they departed, and the monk, Ironside said, he threw his arms around him and gave him a squeeze, he says, you know, a nice hug. And I love that story. First of all, because I come from a Roman Catholic background, and to hear people who are in the Catholic Church confess the truths of Scripture rejoices my heart. The reason I'm sharing this with you today is because what did Ironside use in that last conversation? He used Scripture. But what place in Scripture? What part of Scripture? He used prophecy. prophecy, and not just generalizing things. I mean, even the monk said, oh, heaven or hell, you know, we'll see each other in heaven or hell. You know, that's very general, you know, and that's how a lot of people think about what is to come. You know, it's either we're going to spend all of eternity floating up on some clouds or something, or we're going to spend all of eternity with some kind of fire surrounding us in hell, and that's the extent of their knowledge. No, he got very specific, and he gave He gave two specific occasions, and even the time periods that are surrounding them, and exactly what's going to happen on those two occasions, and the reasons why. And it was that that gave that monk an accurate hope, a precise hope. And so, in the church today, there are a lot of people that say, prophecy, that's just a secondary issue. We don't need to get caught up in the weeds about any details regarding prophecy. We don't need to spend too much time about that. That's divisive. Well, in that story, you have a Protestant minister, and from a Brethren background, which is about as far from the high church ecclesiology of the Catholic Church as it gets, and you have a Franciscan monk, and prophecy brought them together. Prophecy is what brought them together to show them where they had a common hope. Specific prophecy. The things that many people today would say, oh, you're getting caught up in the weeds. That's not something we should be worrying about. So, what we're going to look at today is prophecy. And what I want you to be considering is, is this practical? Is this something that's just an academic pursuit? Is this just something that I need to be studying so that I can have the best arguments with my reformed friends? Or, you know, so that I can sound interesting at the next family gathering when I'm talking about, you know, the end times? Or is this something that has benefit to you right now? Is this something that has benefit to you right now in the specifics too? So let's go to the Lord in prayer and ask Him for help in this endeavor. Father, thank You for bringing us here to worship You. Thank You for giving us Your Word so that we can learn about You and we can learn about what is to come. And Father, I pray that as we look at Scripture that You would give us ears to hear and eyes to see. I pray that You would help us as we look at prophecy. that you would change our lives, that you would cause our walk to be better, that you would cause our relationship with Christ to be closer because we look at prophecy. Father, once again, help us and help everything that we say to be clear and to be glorifying to you. I ask this in Jesus' name, amen. So, prophecy, the reason it's important is because, well, one reason is, it's our hope. You know, yeah, we're saved, or at least I hope you are. We understand that we are sinners. We have sinned against God. We have drawn the sword against Him. We have fired the shot against Him in this war. We're guilty. And because of that, the wages of sin is death. So, that's the problem, isn't it? Sin and death. And Job, he asks a question in Job 14. Turn there if you would. If we understand our problem Job 14.1, man who is born of woman is short-lived and full of turmoil. Like a flower, he comes forth and withers. He also flees like a shadow and does not remain. You also open your eyes on him and bring him into judgment with yourself. Who can make the clean out of the unclean? No one. Since his days are numbered, the number of his months is with you, and his limits you have set so that he cannot pass. Turn your gaze from him that he may rest until he fulfills his day like a hired man. In verse 7, for there is hope for a tree when it is cut down that it will sprout again and its shoots will not fail. Though its roots grow old in the ground and its stump dies in the dry soil, at the scent of water it will flourish and put forth sprigs like a plant. But man dies, and lies prostrate. Man expires, and where is he? As water evaporates from the sea, and a river becomes parched and dried up, so man lies down and does not rise until the heavens are no longer. He will not awake nor be aroused out of his sleep. Oh, that you would hide me in Sheol, that you would conceal me until your wrath returns to you, that you would set a limit for me and remember me." And here it is in verse 14. If a man dies, will he live again? And we'll stop here in this passage. If a man dies, will he live again? Have you ever asked that question? Do you know people that struggle with that? Because we all know that we're going to die, unless the Lord returns, and I hope He does, and those of us who know Him, we won't die. Those of us who are here, alive, on the earth, at His return, we won't die. I hope it's us. But everyone else is going to die. But if man dies, will he live again? I say to you, the answer is yes. And so turn with me to 1 Corinthians 15, and this is where we're going to be. And we're going to take some time to answer that question. It'll be a little bit before we get the exact answer that we want. But 1 Corinthians 15. Starting in verse 1, he says, Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you, as of first importance, what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve. After that, He appeared to more than 500 brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep. Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also, for I am the least of the apostles and not fit to be called an apostle because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God, I am what I am. And his grace toward me did not prove vain. But I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me, whether then it was I or they. So we so we preach. And so you believed. So we'll stop there. We're going to continue after that in a second. What is this saying? He's saying, brother, I make known to you the gospel which I preached to you, which you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved. So he's talking about the gospel. Again, I told you we're talking about prophecy and this is related. Many people say, oh, well, we just, We're just concerned about the gospel. Let's come together just for the gospel. Let's not worry about any of that secondary stuff, that stuff that is debatable. No. Paul here, he's talking about the gospel, and we're going to get into the prophecy here in a second, but the gospel. It's the thing which he preached, which these people received, they stand, and which they're saved. They're saved from their sin, they're saved from death. And he's saying, you Christian, you believe, you're a Christian because you believe this message. And he says, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believe in vain. So, if you're a Christian, and I hope you are, you believe this gospel message. Unless you believe in vain, then you didn't actually believe it. You claim to believe it, but you don't. It's a lie, it's a facade. I hope that you genuinely do believe this. But what is this gospel? He says in verse three, I deliver to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures. That's one. That he was buried, that's two. That he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures. That's three. Those are the three key elements of the gospel. That Christ died, he was buried, that he was resurrected. Those are very important. And again, those are things that our dear friends who would say, prophecy, that's not important. They would say, those are the things that are the most important for us to gather around. And they would add in the things that we know now to uphold that, which is, how that takes effect in our lives, which is by grace through faith alone, but the gospel, we all agree on that. And it's those three essential elements. And so if you are a believer, if you are a Christian, you believe that Christ died, He was buried, and that He was resurrected. It's very simple stuff. I hope I'm not boring you so far. And then it says that He appeared to many people, and we're not gonna go into too much detail there, but this is true. You know, first of all, you have to believe in the resurrection because you're a Christian. It's essential to who we are. Our lives are centered on the fact that there is a resurrection. We're starting to get to that prophecy point. But also, he's saying that it's just silly to not believe that there's a resurrection because people saw the resurrected Christ. And he says that he appeared to the Twelve. What does the law say for something to be taken as an accurate witness, two or three witnesses? He appeared to Twelve, but it doesn't stop there. Sure, his closest friends on the earth, they'll say, oh yeah, we saw him. But first of all, it was more than that. They saw him not just like at a distance, you know, some fuzzy figure or like a log that was shaped like a person. And they said, oh, it's it's Jesus. No, they saw him personally. They saw him, you know, as Doug and I are to each other, even closer, you know, that they touched him. They felt him. They talked with him. It was real. It was clear. But not just the 12. He appeared to 500 people. 500 people. That's a lot of people. I think that's more than two or three witnesses. It was very clear that people saw him. And Paul says, some of them remain on until today, you know, in his day. He's basically saying, go ask them. Go ask the eyewitnesses of this thing that happened and you'll see that it's true. And then he's also saying, I believe, I saw the resurrected Christ on the road to Damascus You know, what happened? Paul was knocked off of his horse and he saw the resurrected Christ who rebuked him for what he was doing. And he, he was, he was saved. He was called to be an apostle. He was, he was commissioned as an apostle. And who's Paul or who was he? He was Hebrew of the Hebrews, a Pharisee of the Pharisees. You know, his life is a testimony to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And so we know that Christ is resurrected. We know that He died, He was buried, He was resurrected. There's a lot of repetition here, but if Peter can say that it's important to repeat things, I think I can too, because I'm talking from Scripture. Christ died, buried and resurrected. That's the gospel. If you are a Christian, you believe that it's necessary. If you don't believe that you are not a Christian and you have no hope. And he's saying, silly to not believe it because so many people saw it. There's countless witnesses and not just any witnesses, reliable witnesses, the apostles, myself, I wouldn't, I wouldn't be here. I wouldn't be writing to you unless I saw the resurrected Christ. But here, here's where, Here's where the confusion comes in, or here's where we might see some similarities with people today. Verse 12, now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection from the dead? So, let's think about that question. You agree, he's saying. He's saying, you know the gospel. You agree that Christ died, was buried, was resurrected. You believe that, but you don't believe that there's a coming resurrection of the dead, of mankind, of all who have fallen asleep, all who are in the grave. You believe Christ was resurrected, but you don't believe that there is coming a resurrection of all men. How is that possible? And, you know, I was telling you that prophecy, you know, that's prophecy. This resurrection that's coming, that's end time stuff, to put it in a very academic manner. That's end time stuff, you know. That's our hope, this resurrection that we have. You know, in 1 Thessalonians 4, where Ironside took that monk, you know, it's talking about the resurrection of the dead, and there's a command associated with it, that we're supposed to comfort one another with those words. You know, that's what we're looking forward to. But I guess, you know, there isn't going to be a resurrection. These people say there isn't going to be a resurrection. And so in verse 13, he says, if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised. Well, I guess Christ hasn't been raised. So there goes the gospel, that thing that we agree on so much. So if there's in the future, this eschatological event, this event in prophecy, if that's not going to happen, well, the thing that we all agree on, the thing that people say they come together on, that's worthless. And he says, if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith also is in vain. Why are we here? We shouldn't be gathering here in this building. We shouldn't gather every Sunday. We shouldn't pray. We shouldn't, we shouldn't talk. We shouldn't read scripture. None. It's all worthless because apparently The things in the end don't matter, and if the things in the end don't matter, if there isn't going to be a resurrection from the dead, Christ isn't raised, the gospel is worthless, everything that we believe is worthless. That's very hopeful. And he says, our preaching is in vain, your faith also is in vain. Moreover, we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. So, it's not just, it doesn't just stop at the fact that, you know, why are we here on Sundays? Everything that we believe is worthless. Well, we've made God a liar. We have, it's not just that we're being silly people and, you know, living out a fantasy. We have actively done something wrong if there isn't going to be a resurrection. And it's one of the most heinous things possible. We have made God a liar. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. Verse 17, and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless, and you are still in your sins. So you're following his logic. These people, and that was a Greek sort of Gnostic idea, that there isn't going to be a resurrection from the dead because everything that's spiritual is good, and everything that's physical is bad. So there was this idea, this Greek idea, that, well, you know, why would we want there to be a resurrection from the dead? Because why would I want a body? The body is bad. The flesh is bad. And so these Greeks, they were saying, well, there isn't going to be a resurrection from the dead. And first of all, I just want to say to you, that's a lie. The flesh is not bad in itself. Everyone in here, we're human beings. We're created in the image of God. what comprises the human being? It's two things. It's a spirit. That's the thing that we agree with these people on. We have a spirit. It's good, right? But our body is also good. How was Adam made? He was made a full man. Spirit, it says the breath of God and the dust of the ground. The physical side, too. And God declared that good. So that's a silly idea, it's ridiculous, it's a lie. Us as people, we as a full person What is God saving? Is He saving just our spirit, or is He saving the full person, spirit and body? He's saving the full person. And that's what Paul is talking about here. And so, they're saying there isn't going to be a resurrection. This future event, it's not going to happen. And you follow Paul's logic. If this future event is not going to happen, if the resurrection is not going to happen, Everything that we believe is a lie. Everything we believe is worthless. And He says, then we're still in our sins. Because Jesus, when He was resurrected, that was confirmation that His sacrifice on the cross, which saved our inner man, that His sacrifice was accepted. So if there is no resurrection from the dead in the future, Christ was not raised, He's still in the grave, that means His sacrifice wasn't accepted because He wasn't qualified to give it. And so we're still in our sins. So not only are we never going to receive a new body, But right here, right now, if you are a Christian, you claim to be a Christian, then you also claim that you have a new man, you have a new nature, your spirit has been cleansed. That's a lie. If there is no resurrection in the future because Christ was not raised, His sacrifice was not accepted, we have no atonement for our sin. So everything that we believe is a lie. if there is no resurrection from the dead in the future. And it says then in verse 18, those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. They're never coming back. Job's question, if man dies, will he live again? No. There's no hope for them. There's hope for a tree, you know, as Job says. He looks at nature, and he says, you know, a tree, it could be dead. There could be a stump there. And yet, the rain comes, and the stump comes back to life. You know, you throw a seed in the ground, and the seed itself, in that form, appears to die, but out of that comes life. Job, he saw these things, and he asks, what about man? If man dies, will he live again? Well, if there is no resurrection from the dead in the future, Christ has not been raised, we're still in our sins, no. There is no hope. That's very hopeful, isn't it? Is that how you want to live? And not just how you want to live, is that the truth? It's not. It's based on a false premise in the first place, but it undoes everything. that scripture says if we don't believe in this future event. But what does it say in verse 20? But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. Christ has been raised from the dead. You believe that if you are a Christian. necessity of who we are, the core of our being as Christians is that. Christ has been raised from the dead. In fact, if you go to Acts 2, if I can flip there, Acts 2, this is the first sermon in the church. What's the first sermon in the church on? I'm just going to read it to you. Men of Judea, 2 verse 14, starting in the middle of the verse. Men of Judea and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words, for these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day, but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel. And it shall be in the last days, God says, that I will pour forth my spirit on all mankind. And your sons and your daughters shall prophecy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. Even on my bond slaves, both men and women, I will in those days pour forth of my spirit, and they shall prophecy. And I will grant wonders in the sky above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood before the great and glorious day of the Lord shall come. And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." Just a side note, that's prophecy. And not all of that has been fulfilled. The day of the Lord isn't here yet. But verse 22, men of Israel Listen to these words, Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through him in your midst, just as you yourselves know, this man delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put him to death. But God raised him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for him to be held in its power. For David says of him, I saw the Lord always in my presence, for he is at my right hand, so that I will not be shaken. Therefore, my heart was glad, and my tongue exalted. Moreover, my flesh also will live in hope, because you will not abandon my soul to Hades, nor allow your Holy One to undergo decay. You have made known to me the ways of life. You will make me full of gladness with your presence. Peter, he continues in verse 29, Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. And so because he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants on his throne, he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of Christ, that he was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh suffer decay. This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. Therefore, having been exalted to the right hand of God and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he poured forth this which you both see and hear, for it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says, the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet. Therefore, let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified. That's the first sermon of the church. What was it about? It's about prophecy. It's about the resurrection. It's essential to who we are. Back to 1 Corinthians 15, but now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. Verse 21, for since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection from the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive, but each in his own order. Christ the firstfruits, after that those who are Christ's at his coming. Then comes the end when he hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when he has abolished all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death. And we'll stop there. The resurrection, once again, is the key to who we are as Christians, but it doesn't stop there. If Christ has been raised, we must also believe in a future coming resurrection of mankind. Because Christ is the firstfruits. If there's firstfruits, there's going to be more. And I want to take you to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 verse 13. This is what Ironside used in talking to that monk. And this talks about the resurrection of the dead. It says, verse 13, But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. Actually, just before we continue. There's commands there. Don't be uninformed. This isn't something that we can just, you know, brush aside and say, well, I'm not some theologian. You know, that's not for me to try and understand the end. No. He's saying, we don't want you to be uninformed about this. This thing that is prophecy. This thing that is talking about end times. We don't want you to be uninformed about those who are asleep so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. This is practical. I mean, you know people that have died. I'm a young man, and I know more people that have died than I like to think about. And I know that that number is only going to grow. But those who have fallen asleep in the Lord, those who are Christians are brothers and sisters who have gone into the grave We're not to grieve as the world, because they don't have hope. We have hope for those people. It's very practical. Verse 14, for if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, the resurrection, even so, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words." So again, command to comfort one another. There's prophecy, it's relating to the resurrection of the dead. This is practical, this is at the core of what we believe. He even relates that to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And I'll close with this. Today you're not going to find many people in the church that deny the resurrection, but they will deny the reality of a physical kingdom. They will deny specific events that are referred to in scripture and prophecy. We've seen that prophecy itself is valuable. It's at the core of who we are as Christians. But what about the specifics? Go to Romans 11. Paul, he spends the first eight chapters of Romans talking about our individual salvation. And then he sort of anticipates the question, well, if God has elected us, He's chosen us, we're secure and safe in Him because we're His. What about Israel? Didn't He choose them as a nation? Didn't He elect them? But it seems like they've turned away. And chapter 9 talks about the election of the nation of Israel, and chapter 10 talks about their rejection. But in 11, I say that God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be. And if we go down to verse, excuse me, I lost where it was. Verse 11, 1111, I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, referring to Israel, did they? May it never be. But by their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make them jealous. Now if their transgression is richest for the world and their failure is richest for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment be? But I am speaking to you who are Gentiles, inasmuch then as I am an apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, if somehow I might move to jealousy my fellow countrymen and save some of them. Verse 15, for if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? So here we're talking about the resurrection again. This thing that Paul in 1 Corinthians has tied to the resurrection of Christ, which is the core of our belief. And Paul here, he's saying that the resurrection that's coming, when is it going to happen? Verse, what was that, verse 15? What will their acceptance be but life from the dead? So we have specifics about that too. It's when Israel accepts their Messiah. Then the resurrection is going to come. We have specifics. And Paul is saying that even Israel, the role of Israel in prophecy is important because the timing of things, as it relates to Israel, relates to the timing of the resurrection of the dead. We can't just brush off prophecy as not important. Paul makes the connection for us. We're not overstepping. the core tenet of our faith, the thing that defines who each and every one of us, if we believe, who we are, the gospel is tied directly to prophecy. It's tied directly to what is to come. So, yes, if you have faith in Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, if you trust in his atoning death on the cross, you're forgiven, you're saved, but you're saved from what? You're saved for what? Those things matter. Those questions matter. Because if we're just thinking about right now, we're missing out on well, key elements of our faith, but also we're missing out on practical things that we can apply to our lives right now, like the comfort of knowing the answer to the question with detail of Job's question. If man dies, will he live again? We have that answer in perfect color. It's like going and seeing a movie in the IMAX theater, that level of detail. We can answer Job's question. because we have prophecy. We know what the end is going to be like. So what do you think about? Well, first of all, do you know Christ? I hope you do. If not, right now, turn from your sin and confess Jesus as Lord. But if you are a Christian, once again, I hope you are, what's your thought life like? What's your relationship with Scripture? What's your relationship with prophecy? Do you dwell on that? Do you follow the command in 1 Thessalonians to comfort one another with the truths, with the hope that we have with what is to come? Do you comfort yourself with that? What do you think about? And if you're not thinking about the things that are to come, you're missing out. And not just that you're missing out, you're disobeying commands that are found in scripture to know prophecy and to utilize it. Where are you? I hope that If you're a Christian, you dwell constantly on the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, that you dwell constantly on the gospel, that you know it intimately, because that's our command to share that with people. It's how we live. It's how we stand. But I also hope that you are dwelling constantly on the hope that comes from the gospel, that there is going to be a resurrection from the dead, and that because we have forgiveness of sins, we will dwell with the Lord always. We'll see the new heavens and new earth where God will tabernacle among men, where there will be no more mourning, there will be no more tears, there will be no more death, for the first things will have passed away. We'll see the new heavens and new earth for all eternity. We'll be able to, all of us in this room, if we know Jesus, For all of eternity, together, we will stand face to face in the very physical presence of Jesus, our Lord, our Master. We have that hope because of what Scripture, I hope you're thinking about that. Let's pray. Father, thank you for the great hope that you've given us. And Father, I pray that you would cause this hope that we have. these truths about what is to come that you've given to us. I hope that you will cause these things to stick in our heart. And when trials come, when difficulties come, Father, just like Peter gave hope to those who are about to go through persecution with the inheritance that we have that's coming in the end, Lord, I pray that we will look at that hope and find our comfort in that. And Father, I pray also that you would give us courage. Well, first of all, that you would give us knowledge and clarity, but that you would give us courage to talk about this hope that we have with others, the people who have no hope. Father, help us to give this hope to others.