Thanks again for the invitation today. We praise the Lord for it. 1 Corinthians chapter 15. I know there's no time limits today, but I do stand between you and lunch, so I better at least do this if I can remember how to do it. Tough getting old. So when I began to think about how I might minister to you today, I know y'all have had a tough year, and I suppose a lot of things have entered into your mind, which, by the way, I think those tough times and the suffering like Brother Mark just talked about a moment ago, it's been my experience that a lot of that comes through the pursuit of being more biblical. And, you know, if you're moderate, if you're lukewarm in what I'm saying in biblical matters and what is truly biblical, Satan doesn't have any problem with you going on as you are. You're actually helping him out. But when it comes to actually being biblical and being committed to the scripture and committed to following and pursuing the scriptures, that's when, it's been my experience, that's when trouble starts. That's when those enemies start coming out of the woodwork. And so, that's when those tough times come. So I suppose during those tough times, and I don't just suppose it, I know it by experience, things have entered your mind, many things perhaps have entered your mind as individuals, as the Lord's people here and as this church here, even that it might be easier just to quit and give up. And I want to try to encourage you, listen, we should all know that these thoughts do enter our minds. These thoughts are not at all uncommon in the believer's mind, okay? They have never been uncommon. The idea that, hey, This is just too hard. Maybe I just need to quit. Maybe I just need to give up. Listen, we have many, many examples in Scripture that tell us that real, true believers of God, followers of Christ, thought those same things. So don't let guilt overtake you if those things come into your mind, because that's just not... Those things are common in the mind of God's people. They are. We're human beings. Yes, we are born again, praise the Lord. Yes, we are a new creature in Christ Jesus, praise the Lord, but we're also still walking around in these bodies of death. And in these bodies of death, all sorts of thoughts come into our mind. Remember Elijah? You know? He sure was ready to give up, right? His shade tree dried up. He was ready to give in. Give up! Kill me, Lord! But yet, Scripture tells us that His nature is the same as ours, and ours is the same as His. Remember Job, who by the way was the most righteous man on earth? Have you read the book of Job? Was he ready to give up at times? I'd have been better if I'd never been born, is what he said. So those things are common in the minds of God's people. So when I was thinking about what the Lord, what God the Holy Spirit might use to comfort and encourage and motivate you, well, I'll just say it this way, the decision was an easy one. 1 Corinthians chapter 15, one of the most glorious, comforting, encouraging, motivating chapters in God's Word. The Apostle Paul here writes about, he writes about and emphasizes the truth that we all as Christ followers know and believe, but yet somehow I don't think we know and believe it like we should. or I don't think we live in and live from this truth as we should. So let me begin by giving us a couple points of context. Of course, this is a letter, 1 Corinthians, is a letter written by the apostle Paul to a congregation of baptized believers in the city of Corinth, Greece. And the apostle is writing this letter, if you've ever read the book of 1 Corinthians, the letter of 1 Corinthians, he's writing this letter because this church had a lot of serious issues. And at the root of their issues, they were carnal. Their thinking, their attitudes, their actions were too worldly. In other words, they had heart issues that were plaguing their lives and plaguing the life of their church. That sound familiar? It should. Because of all the churches that are addressed in the New Testament, it's this called worldly church of Corinth that most closely resembles the typical church in America today. In other words, if the Apostle Paul were writing a letter to our churches today, he would say a lot of the same things and in the same way to us. He would, I'm convinced of that. So this instruction is definitely relevant to us. It is relevant to our churches today. And speaking of instruction, we should notice that this chapter and the subject of this chapter, chapter 15, is really the end of Paul's teaching or instruction in this letter. Chapter 16, if you glance there up into chapter 16, is much more postscript. than didactic. You can see in verses 1 through 12 in chapter 16, if you just glance at it, you can see that verses 1 through 12 are specific instruction for that love offering that Mark was talking about for the Jerusalem church. And then verses 12 or verses 13 through 24 are mostly personal greetings. So what this means is As the Apostle Paul, through this letter, is seeking to move this congregation from willingness to godliness and godwardness, this, chapter 15, is the climactic chapter. Chapter 15 is the climactic part of his letter. You see, the Apostle Paul, he knows what will save a choral church. He knows what would save a carnal church full of worldly people and worldly Christians from themselves. He knows what it is. So what is it? Well, let's just look, beginning in verse one. Now, I make known to you, brothers. And what we're about to see is he's saying, I need to remind you of something, brothers. I make known to you, brothers, the gospel, which I proclaimed as good news 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 proclaimed to you as good news, unless you believe for nothing. For I delivered to you as first importance what I also received. Christ Jesus himself taught the apostle Paul this. 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 brothers at one time, most of whom remain until now, at this present writing, but some have fallen asleep, some have died. After that, He appeared to James, Then to all the apostles, and last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared to me also." So he's saying, I need to remind you, brothers, of something. I need to remind you of the gospel. In his letter to the Rome churches, the same apostle wrote that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes. So here we see the apostle actually believing and living in the reality of that truth. This church needed to be saved from themselves. And so Paul says, I need to remind you of something. It's something I've already told you. It's something that you receive. It's what the Holy Spirit used to save your soul, but you need to be reminded of something. You need to be reminded of the gospel. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation in both the lost and the saved, and the saved. They need to be saved from their worldliness. And Paul knows that the gospel is God's power, God's mean to do just that. So in this climactic conclusion of his letter, he reminds them and proclaims to them once again, the gospel, the good news of how our great and good God, God Yahweh saves sinners by verses three and four, giving his own son, Christ Jesus, to die, not for his sins. He had no sin, but as a sacrifice and a substitute for our sin, saints. Christ Jesus was put forward and he stepped forward as the propitiation for our sin. He bore our sins in his own body on the tree at the cross of Golgotha. He was then buried dead in our sins death, but on the third day in his own authority, in his own power, in his own perfect righteousness, he triumphed. and rose victorious over our sin and its death unto resurrected life. And he did all of this and everything, he did everything required to reconcile separated sinners, us saints, back into right relationship with God, our Creator. This is the gospel. This is the good news of God, our Savior. So the Apostle Paul knew exactly what was needed to save these worldly Christians from themselves. He knew exactly what was needed, as he wrote in his second letter to them, for them to be transformed into the image of Christ from one degree of glory to another. They needed to be reminded, they needed to see Christ the risen and living Savior. They needed the gospel. And him, Paul, knowing exactly what they needed to be rescued from their worldliness. We need to see something else here. It's very interesting. In verses 4, when Paul tells them and us that Jesus was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, from that point on, the rest of the chapter, 54 verses, it is all really about the resurrection. It's about Christ's resurrection and because of his resurrection, our resurrection from the grave. Notice at a glance with me as we don't have time, we'll be here till two o'clock instead of just one if I go through and read this whole entire passage. So just glance with me as we work through this. I want you to see the reality of this. In verses five through 11, if you'll glance at those verses, you'll see that Paul tells them and us about the physical proof of Christ's resurrection, the physical proof of Christ's resurrection, which is not one, not two, but 500 plus eyewitnesses. In verses 12 through 19, he tells us about the hope of resurrection, which, for emphasis, he states negatively, as in, if Christ did not rise from the dead, apparently there were some in the church there that were saying that he didn't. He's saying, if Christ did not rise from the dead, then there is no hope. If we don't have a risen Savior, then there is no hope in our preaching, there's no hope in our faith, there's no hope in ours or anyone else's sins being removed, which they must be. And verse 19, he concludes with, of all the people in the world, including us here today, If Christ is still in the grave, we are the most pitiable, we are the most miserable, hopeless people alive if Christ has not risen from the dead. But thankfully, in verses 20 through 34, you'll notice, he affirms there and our hope and even his and our ministries in the truth that Christ most definitely has risen from the dead. You hear that? Christ Jesus, the Lord of glory, he has most definitely risen from the dead. Saints, we absolutely do have a risen Savior. He was dead, yes, yes, but now he is alive forevermore. Christ has risen from the dead. By the way, what he writes here, this shows us, that the resurrection was not just a miracle. The resurrection was not just something that Jesus did just to show off his power. The resurrection was necessary. The resurrection was necessary. It was necessary. Christ rising from the dead was necessary, as Jesus himself alludes to in John chapter 10, to prove his own authority and power and his perfect unity with God the Father. The resurrection of Jesus was necessary to demonstrate Christ's conquering victory and therefore His saving sufficiency over our sin's death. In other words, God the Father was satisfied. The resurrection proves when God raised Jesus from the dead, as Scripture puts it, that's one way that it puts it, It proved that God the Father was satisfied with Jesus' sacrifice and substitution on our behalf. When God sent his messenger angel to roll back the stone, the declaration was there that it was finished, the price is paid, the prisoner is set free. It proved, it demonstrated, the resurrection demonstrated Christ conquering victory and therefore His saving sufficiency. How do you know that Jesus, the work of Jesus is enough? Look at the resurrection, He rose from the dead, it's enough. His work is enough. He conquered our death in His life, by His life. And it was also necessary. It wasn't just a miracle that he did to show off his power, no. It was necessary, as the writer of Hebrews tells us, because it was necessary for us to have a sinless, ever-living high priest. Listen, if you think for a moment that through some religious thing, some religious preference that you have, that that's gonna make you more acceptable before God, I want to tell you, how in the world could you ever, ever live, forever live to intercede, to make intercession for yourself before God? You can't even ascend to heaven on your own, right? No. No, let alone ever live to make intercession for other people. Job was talking about us when he says, I look around at everybody around me and they're all just like me. I have no man. There's no one who could be my kinsman, redeemer. No one who could ransom and redeem my soul. I have no one because everyone else is just like me. We need something more, and Christ was that necessary lamb without spot or blemish. He was that more, and He still is that more. He is risen from the dead, and He rose to ascend to the right hand of God, and there take up the office of the great High Priest, whoever lives to save us to the uttermost, and the word uttermost in that context in Hebrews speaks of completely forever, to save us completely forever. Do not depend on your religious works, your religious preference to save you. It will not save you. In fact, if we are depending on those things to make us more acceptable before God, we're spitting in the face of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice and His substitution for us. It's Him. It's Christ alone. who could save us from our sin, his resurrection. Hey, there's only been one person who rose from the dead of his own power throughout all of human history, right? Yeah, that one person is this person, Christ Jesus, and he did it because it was necessary. It was necessary. So Paul reminds them and us here that the resurrection of Christ was much, much more than just miraculous. Christ has indeed risen from the grave of our deaths, saints, because it was necessary. It was absolutely necessary. Then in verses 35 through 49, that was just a little sidetrack, but if you'll glance at verses 35 through 49, Paul here in this letter, in this chapter, he's talking, he's showing us the glory of the resurrection of Christ, and as he continues to talk in verses 35 through 49, he gives us light on the great mystery of resurrection bodies. Saints, God created us as a living soul, and these bodies, they are bodies of death, and they'll be laid down, but then he's gonna raise them up again, and they're gonna be different than they are now, praise the Lord. They're gonna be different than they are now, and Paul talks about how that's all gonna happen. I mean, let's face it, when we think about our bodies being resurrected and us having a glorified body, we can't even imagine that, right? We can't even imagine living in a body that has no tendency towards sin. that has at least somewhat controlled Jesus' body, sure did, has somewhat, it excelled over the natural limits of things. Remember, he walked right through the door in the upper room and he tells the scripture, Paul right here talks about our bodies being like his. We can't imagine that. Sometimes what we do, if we can't imagine it, then it can't possibly be true, right? Like we are somebody. It is true. It is true. Paul talks about those resurrection bodies, the mystery of our bodies, of the glorified body, verses 35 through 49. And then in verses 50 through 58, he tells us about our own resurrection and eternal victory, and by and because of the risen Christ. So get this. to this worldly church, okay, put all this together. All of this is intentional, okay. Remember, he's writing, he's not speaking. We might say things that we don't really mean, you know, and we don't correct ourselves that we're saying it, but when you're writing, I write quite a bit, so when I'm writing, if I don't, well, it's not this kind of writing anymore, it's this kind of writing. As I'm writing, I don't want, you know, I say something, I'm following my logic, and then I look up, No, that don't even make sense. What do I do? Back up, back up, back up. Rewrite that, right? So he's writing this. He had a pen that he could scratch through it and say, no, I don't want to say that. Let me say it this way, okay? So all this is intentional. He knows exactly what he's saying here. It's intentional. So to this worldly church that is being assaulted by their own worldliness and ungodliness, to help them, to save them from their own worldly waywardness to godliness, Paul reminds them of the gospel, which is heavy, heavy, heavy. 54 verses on resurrection, right? Y'all see that? Reminds him of the gospel, then he beelines to the focus of resurrection. Intentionally. The climactic part of the letter. Okay? So there must surely be something about the resurrection. Both Christ and our resurrection because of His. that should have a sanctifying, not to mention a comforting, encouraging, motivating effect upon their and our lives, right? So, Paul knows what they need. The Holy Spirit knows what we still need, individually and corporately, to save us from ourselves. to sanctify us, to conform us unto the image of Christ, to help us, to encourage and motivate us to get in the faith and to stay in the faith. It's the gospel. A resurrection-heavy gospel. He knows it. He's writing this. It's intentional. He knows the problems of the church. He knows what will cure the problems of the church if the Holy Spirit will work through his word, as he's promised. And what is it? It is the gospel, a resurrection-heavy gospel. But why? Why? What is it about the resurrection that should cause a sanctifying effect upon our lives, upon our individual lives, upon our corporate lives. What is it? Well, look back up with me to that section here about the hope of resurrection. Notice in verses 21 and 22. He tells us about Adam. You ever hear about Adam? About a man named Adam? You ever hear about how Adam sinned, how he sinned and then death came through him and through his sin and passed upon all of us? You ever heard of that? Yeah. Me too. Me too. I've heard that sad news. And then, through death, then though death has come upon us through Adam, life. What can save us from death, saints? Life. That's the only thing that can save us from death. Life, the life that saves us from death, comes through Christ Jesus. That's what he's talking about in verses 21 through 22. You ever heard that? Yes, praise the Lord. We've all heard the good news, right? We've heard the sad news of Adam and sin and death, but we've also all heard the good news of life in Christ Jesus. In verse 23, notice, he tells us that because Christ has risen, we believers will too at Christ's coming. Have you ever heard about the second coming of Christ? Me too. Me too. In fact, he pretty much gives us the play-by-play of Christ's coming and our coming future in verses 50 through 54, if you notice that. Then in verse 24, he tells us about the end. What she describes here as being, or it includes, the coming kingdom or the reign of Christ. Ever heard about that? Ever heard about the reign of Christ? Ever heard about the coming thousand-year reign of Christ on and over the entire earth? Yes. Me too. Me too. In verse 26, he writes about the final destruction of the last enemy, death itself. Have you ever heard about sin and death and the curse being destroyed, being put away? Have you ever heard about that? Hallelujah, me too. Just keep following here. Verse 28, ever heard about a day, an eternal day, when God will be all in all? Yes, I've heard about that. And what about verses 54 through 57? You ever hear anything about victory? Final, complete, forever victory. over sin and death in, by, and because of our Lord Jesus Christ. No, yes, glory to God, yes, I've heard about it. It's our hope, it's our expectation, right? And understand, remember, Paul is saying, or he's writing all of this in the context of the resurrection. In other words, because of the fact, since Christ has indeed risen from the dead, our faith, saints, is not worthy. It's not, no, but we can fully expect all of this to come to pass. Isn't that what he's getting at here? That is exactly what he's getting at here. That's the reason he's writing all of this in the context of the resurrection, because Christ is risen from the dead, our faith is not vain, but we can fully expect all of this to come to pass. The saints, I can see you shaking your head, Jess. We all have heard about all of these things that the Apostle Paul just lists here, right? Where have we heard about all of these things? Where have we heard about all of these things? Right here. That's where we've heard about all of these things. Every single one of them. That's what we've heard about all of them. So get this now. Get this. This is the point that Paul is making. Saints, not if, but since Christ Jesus has indeed risen from the dead, all of this, this book, All of this is completely and exactly and precisely true. How do I know I can believe this? How can I know? What about this? I don't know if I can believe that. You can believe it. But how can I know that I can believe it? Because the one who wrote it died and rose again. Listen now. You can take your own high understanding and your own credibility, and you can say, I believe what I want to believe. You can do that. Or you can believe this book because God wrote it, and then He came to this earth, proved that He was God, and ultimately proved it by coming forth from the dead. By the grace of God, I will choose to believe Him. I will choose to believe the Scriptures. Because Jesus rose from the dead, we can know that all of this is exactly true. Does that mean you understand all of it, that I understand all of it? No, no. Listen, if it ever comes a day when you stop learning, When you know too much to learn anything else, something's wrong. You need to throw yourself on the mercy of God and beg Him to change that attitude in you. Now, I don't understand it all, but it does not mean that it's not true. Just because I don't understand how God spoke everything to existence in six literal days, out of nothing, doesn't mean it's not true. It is true. How do I know? Because he said it was true. Well, how do I know that he's a credible source? Because he rose from the dead. He said it was true. All of this, because Christ Jesus has indeed risen from the dead, all of this is completely and absolutely true. From the beginning to the end, it's true. From the first page to the last, it's true. From eternity to eternity, it's all true. Everything that God has written, about the past is true. Everything that he has written about the present is true. Everything that he has written about the future, it's all exactly precisely true. Listen, everything that God has written and revealed about himself, it's true. Everything that he has revealed about you and me is true. Everything that he said about this world is true. It's precisely and entirely true, and we know that. because Christ Jesus has risen from the dead. That's the point Paul's making. He's reminding them of all of these things that they've already heard. And they've heard it because God's Word, they've been taught God's Word by this very apostle. For a year and a half, he stayed with them, continually fellowshipping with them from day to day, teaching them the truth of God's Word. They had heard all of these things. They just need to be reminded, listen, Christ rose from the dead. All of this is true. You need to live in the light of the truth. All of it's true. So let me ask us, do you believe? Do you believe this? Do you believe it? Do you have faith? First, do you have faith in the fact that Christ has risen from the dead and is alive right now, this moment, at the right hand of God? The person of Christ, this Jesus, He is risen from the dead, he ascended into heaven, where he now resides at the right hand of God. Do you believe that? Do you believe that? And let me just remind, let me just remind us, okay, James, or the Holy Spirit through James, is sure to tell us that biblical saving faith is not lifeless. but living, okay? True saving faith is working faith. In other words, true saving faith is a faith or it is a trust that rules and governs our thinking and our doing. True saving faith. True saving faith is not a religious side on this side, and then we have our secular life on this side. If you believe that, you do not have true saving faith. That's actually Gnosticism. We don't call it that in these days, but that's what it is. Much of the New Testament is fighting against the heresy of Gnosticism. These apostles, this idea that, well, you have a spiritual life, but totally disconnected from that is your secular life. If you have this certain kind of spiritual life, You don't have to worry about this physical life. That is not true. One of the reasons James says what he does in the book of James about true saving faith being working faith is because that is not true. True saving faith. It governs your entire life. It governs your entire life. So here it is, saints. True saving faith believes that Christ is risen from the dead. And because He is the risen Savior, true saving faith actually thinks and lives like all of this, in case you can't see it, all of this is really true. That's how true saving faith thinks. That's how true saving faith acts. That's what true saving faith believes. This is how the resurrection sanctifies our minds and our lives. This is how the resurrection comforts and encourages us and motivates us and moves us to rejoice to rejoice in any and all circumstances. Listen. The enemies abound. And they say all manner of wrong against you without cause. Enemies within, enemies without, enemies everywhere. What do you do? Do you despair? You give up? If I quit doing this, then all of this heartache will go away. Is that your thinking? How are you going to quit doing this, church? How are you going to quit being a follower of Jesus Christ if He saved you by His grace? How are you going to quit serving Him faithfully? How are you going to quit enduring? with him, fellowshipping in his suffering. How are you going to do that? Because all of this is true. Because all of this is true. He's coming. We're all going to stand before him and give an account of our lives. When we say, look, Jesus, I just couldn't do this. The enemies were too great. I wonder what he would say about that. I would imagine he would say something like this. Wait. Didn't I tell you repeatedly in my word, in the book, that it's all true? Didn't I tell you that I will work all things for your advantage? For your good? All things. Didn't you believe me? That all things, even included Terrible pain and suffering inflicted upon us by sometimes those that we love and give our whole lives to? Do you believe me? That's what He's actually going to say. Do you believe me? He's revealed Himself, His whole Word, everything that is true. He has given us saints everything that is true. In His Word, everything that is true. Everything that we need to know in this life that is true, He's given, written that to us in His Word, promised that it's all true in His Word, risen from the dead to prove, listen, it's all true! Believe me! I am, what did He call Himself in John 14? The truth! Well, I can't, I didn't, I couldn't, didn't you believe me? Didn't you believe me? So are you actually thinking and living? Is your entire life being governed by the fact that all of this is true? That is what it is to truly live in the truth of the resurrection. In fact, in fact, not thinking, And not living like all of this is true actually is either being biblically illiterate, and I'm not saying that to be mean. I'm just saying we don't need to be biblically illiterate. God has given us his word. Read the word. Read the book. Spend your life as a student of God's word. That's what we should be. If he's given us, if he's revealed to us everything that we need to know for life and godliness, isn't that what we are told in this book? He has written to us everything that we need to know for life and godliness. Okay, then what's the primary book in your life? This book. This book. Read it. When you get through with it, read it again. And when you get through with that, read it again. And read it again. And read it again. And read it again. Pursue God in His Word. By the way, not only does He just reveal everything that we need to know for life and godliness, right here through His Word is how the Holy Spirit speaks to us today. It's the only way He speaks to us today, through the Scriptures. So what book's gonna be your, if God himself is gonna speak to you and lead you in your life and convict you of your sin, which we understand grieves him, oh, it should break our heart to grieve God, right? He's blessed us so abundantly. He saved us by his grace. We should never wanted to grieve God. How are we gonna keep from grieving God from knowing the truth? The truth is what sets us free. How do we know the truth, this book? What's the primary? What's going to be the primary book? If all of this is true, what's going to be the primary reading of our life? This book. This book is your life. All of this is true, so is your life. Do you believe it? Do you believe it is your life governed by the fact that Yahweh is God and the God that He is? He reveals to us that He is God, the one true and only living God. And then on every page of the book, He reveals to us exactly the God that He is. He is so unlike the God of men's making, all the other gods. He is other. He is holy. That word means other. He is other than any other. And He teaches us that on every page of the book. We cross into the New Covenant writings, and He shows us. in the face of His Son, Christ Jesus. He's other, totally other than any other. Do you believe that God Yahweh is God, and He is the God that He is, and being the God that He is, He is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him? All of this is true, and that's what the book says. He is. Is your mind and life governed by the fact, by the gospel, that God's salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ Jesus alone, your risen Savior, your salvation? Is your life governed by that fact? Is your life governed by the fact that His eternity is coming? You know, I remember well when I was, Josiah, I believe, was probably the youngest one in the room. I remember well when I was his age. I remember well sitting like where he's sitting, listening to my dad preach and thinking in my mind, ain't no way I'm ever going to do that. But you know, those days, his age, I'm almost 60 and I know that's young among some here, but still almost 60 and I can remember that age, it's been like that. And who can give me a witness that it's going faster and faster and faster? I mean, we're almost at the end of this year already, and I mean, it just started, y'all. It was just November a couple days, or not November, it was January a couple days ago. See, I'm already mixed up. This life is few days and full of trouble, that's what Job said. You believe it? That means God's eternity is just right there. It's just in a moment, y'all. I guarantee you when we get on that side of it, we'll look back on this side and say, man, that was actually just a moment. It's nothing compared to forever that's ahead of us. God's Word tells us that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, and that God's eternity is coming. It's coming for all of us. And our citizenship is in heaven with God, our Savior, our everything. Are you actually living in that truth, in that reality? Are you actually living in the truth, this truth, or as the apostle puts it here in verse 58, look at 58. Therefore, okay, this is how he sums it all up. Therefore, because of the resurrection, of Jesus, and because all of this is true, therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast. Steadfast in what? In the truth. All of this is true. Christ's resurrection proved it. Be steadfast in the truth. Immovable. Immovable in what? In our preferences, in our traditions? No, in the truth. always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing, knowing, how do we know? Because of the resurrection of Christ. That's the context. He's saying the sin. Because of the resurrection of Christ, we know, children of God, saints of God, we know that our labor, no matter how painful, no matter the sacrifice of that labor, We know because of the resurrection of Christ and that proves that all of this is true, we know that our labor is not in vain in the Lord. It's not in vain. Thanks. Because Christ has risen from the dead, we can know in full assurance of faith that all of this is true. to let us all think and live, let us all even endure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ, because all of this is true. Because the truth is, just as Christ Jesus rose from the dead and then ascended to glory soon in a moment, because of Him, we will too, to be with Him. That's true. May we all live like it. May we all live like it. May we all live in the truth and in the victory and in the power of the resurrection of Christ Jesus our Lord. I wonder what Paul meant in Philippians when he said that he wanted to know Christ and live in the power of his resurrection. What did he mean? He meant what he's saying here. All of this is true. I know that Christ's resurrection—we know He believed that. He says it right here. I know the resurrection of Christ proves that all of this is true. All of God's Word is absolutely, entirely, specifically true. Precisely true. So let me live in the truth. That's what it is to live in the power and the victory of the resurrection of Christ Jesus our Lord. May God bless you and keep you and cause his face to shine upon you and give you grace. Amen.