can only do what we can do. We are dependent upon other forces to deal with Lilly's opening. Luke 24, please. Just going to get right to the point. It's on the screen behind me. Jesus' resurrection isn't an urban legend. Urban legend is defined in two different ways that I found that I thought you might find interesting. An interesting or entertaining story or piece of information of uncertain origin that is circulated as though true. That's the first definition of urban legend. Here's a second one. An apocryphal second-hand story told as true, just plausible enough to be believed, about some horrific, embarrassing, ironic, or exasperating series of events that supposedly happened to a real person. Just a few examples of some urban legends. No, Mr. Rogers was not a Navy SEAL or a Marine sniper. Just look at him. And no, you Facebookers, there is no house-sized Angolian witch spider. I know you've seen it. It's not real. Here's another one. We can take a look at this picture here. See that daddy long legs? Raise your hand if you've been told that the daddy long legs spider has enough venom to kill a person. but teeth too short to bite. Raise your hand. Be proud. Be proud that you've been fooled. It's not true. No venom in the daddy long leg spider. At least not enough to injure anyone. And then there's this one. I think a lot of you have heard this. Maybe you have, maybe you haven't. But there was a story going around a few years back that Business travelers really needed to watch out because if they went into a bar and someone offered them a drink, the very next thing that they remembered could be them waking up in a bathtub filled with ice with a note and a telephone that says, call 911, your kidney has been harvested. Also, in urban legend. Have you heard that one, anyone? I heard that one going around a few years back. Not true. Luke 24, verses 1-8 please. Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they and certain other women with them came to the tomb, bringing the spices which they had prepared. But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. Then as they were afraid and bowing their faces to the earth, they said to them, why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen. Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee saying, the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified? And the third day rise again. And they remembered His words." in a world filled with urban legends and stories. Sometimes society lumps together actual historical events into the same category. And there are various reasons why they would lump the resurrection in with urban legends. Number one is unbelief. Number two, could be a lack of understanding. And number three, and far more frighteningly, refusal to observe revealed truth. Any one of these causes the same consequence which is a disbelief in what God has done through His Son Jesus Christ when He hung on Calvary's cross bearing the weight of my sin on His being. taking the full weight of the wrath of God against my sin, that he was buried in a tomb for parts of three days. And that blessed Sunday morning, up from the grave, he arose with a mighty triumph over his foes. We know the song. and they refuse that offer of salvation. Why can we confidently stand upon the reality of a risen Savior? Why can we confidently dismiss any possibility that it was just an urban legend? Well, I'll give you two thoughts. There are many others that we could include, but just two thoughts for this morning about this. The first one is because God's inspired Word records the resurrection of Jesus Christ. God himself authenticates the resurrection. But secondly, and this is what we want to trace through the scriptures for a few moments, the disciples who became the apostles all gave their lives because of their confidence that Jesus rose from the dead. They gave their lives. They staked everything they had and everything they were on the reality that Jesus, the One they followed for parts of three and a half years, the One that proclaimed the glorious Gospel, that He, when He hung on a cross and was taken down, definitely dead. They confirmed it. With the piercing of His side and the blood and water flowed, wrapped Him in grave clothes and placed Him in a rich man's tomb. They rolled the stone in front of that cave way. But those disciples, they came to the tomb. And not only did they see that that tomb was empty, they each also had follow-up conversation, face-to-face, confirming the resurrection of Jesus Christ. and as a result, their entire lives were changed. Now, they were fathers of Jesus before that, but if you'll remember as you read through the Gospels, they were timid in many ways. And the resurrection gave them a great boldness for the resurrection's sake and the power that is associated by the Spirit of God dwelling in them. All 12 of the disciples died, 11 of them by martyrdom. You'll remember that James was the first martyr in A.D. 44. Sometime in the late 60s, both Peter and Paul were executed. And then sometime in the late 90s, the last remaining apostle, who was designated and shipped off to the small isle called Patmos, died late in the 90's likely by martyrdom. They gave their lives. Why? Look with me at another couple of verses of Scripture. We're in Luke. You're going to go through John and get over to Acts. Acts 1. Acts 1. Luke was penning a record of Jesus Christ in the book of Luke and he continued that with a second volume here writing to a Greek named Theophilus. And he writes this to introduce the book that we call Acts or the Acts of the Apostles. In verse 1, God's Word says this, The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which He was taken up after He, through the Holy Spirit, had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen. to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs being seen by them during 40 days and speaking of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God." And so Luke is confirming Jesus appeared to us 40 days and there were many infallible proofs. Look over at chapter 2 and we'll hear the confident preaching of Peter. Acts 2. And v. 22, the confident preaching of Peter. God's Word says, beginning in v. 22, men of Israel, hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know. Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands have crucified and put to death whom God raised. having loosed the pains of death because it was not possible that He should be held by it. For David says concerning Him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face. For He is at my right hand that I may not be shaken. Therefore, my heart rejoiced and my tongue was glad. Moreover, my flesh also will rest in hope. For You will not leave my soul in Hades, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. You have made known to me the ways of life. You will make me full of joy. in your presence. Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch, David, that he is both dead and buried and his tomb is with us to this day. Therefore, being a prophet and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, he would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne. He, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of Christ. that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. This Jesus God has raised up." Will you read the rest of the verse with me? "...of which we are all witnesses. Therefore, being exalted to the right hand of God, having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear." Peter, just 50 days from the crucifixion or the resurrection, 50 days from then, he's preaching in a public forum. And he says, look at what God said was going to happen with the Christ. The One who was confirmed by God. That He was the One that was to be presented to Israel as their Messiah King. This One you took and crucified. This One God has raised up from the dead. But God told us this was going to happen. God told us that the Christ would suffer. God told us that the Christ must suffer and then rise again on the third day. This, friends, this is the confidence that Peter has because he had an eyewitness of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Look at chapter 3 of the book of Acts. Acts chapter 3. The context of Acts chapter 3 Peter and John were heading into the temple area. There's a man who couldn't walk. He says, help me. Give me some money. And Peter said, you know, we don't have any silver and gold, but we do have something else for you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk. As a result of this, it opened up the opportunity for Peter to present a glorious message. Beginning in v. 12 is where we want to pick it up. Acts 3. So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people, men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Why do you look so intently at us as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Son, Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate when he was determined to let Him go. But you denied the Holy One and the just and asked for a murderer to be granted to you and killed the Prince of Life. Read the next few words with me. Whom God raised from the dead. of which we are witnesses listen there's no doubt here verse 16 and his name through faith in his name he has made this man strong whom you see and know yes the faith which comes through him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all so Peter attributes the restorative power to this man's ill body to the resurrection power associated with Jesus Christ. And then Peter and John are called before the chief rulers. And they have to deal with this again in chapter 4. Take a look there with me. Acts 4, verses 8-12. Again, we're seeing the confident testimony of a man. Peter. Do you remember Peter? If you were to isolate down to the very one major trait of Peter before the resurrection and one scene, what scene would it be? Probably, I don't know, maybe you wouldn't, but probably you would remember the three denials. And one of the denials, he was swearing, I don't know that man! This Peter. What's up with that? How do we go from, I don't know that man! To just 50 days later, 60 days later, a little less than that. Standing up in front of a mass of people saying, Jesus rose from the dead. And then again. Jesus rose from the dead. Now He's dragged before magistrates in chapter 4. Look beginning in verse 8. filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, rulers of the people and elders of Israel, if we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man by what means he has been made well, let it be known to you all and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead by Him, This man stands here before you whole. This, Jesus, is the stone which was rejected by you builders and has become the chief cornerstone. Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. Meek, cowering, turning, Peter before the Same type of circumstance now proclaims Jesus is raised from the dead. What's the difference? Faith. What's the difference? Conversion. What's the difference? Regeneration. What's the difference? The Spirit of God inside of Peter confirming the reality. The Word is true. The record is true. The disciples... Believed unto death. That's how much they were convinced of the message of the resurrection. Jesus' resurrection, it's no urban legend. Why is it that a world would not want to believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ? It's a plausible question, isn't it? Isn't it an oddity that people would want to turn from a God who says, I want to bear your sin. I want to take the penalty for your sin. I want to grant to you my righteousness. I want to grant to you eternal life. Ultimately, we can only isolate it now into one thing. Satanic influence is just rampant to say, No, it's just a myth. It's just a story. It's just an urban legend. We're not going to turn there, but in 1 Corinthians 15, We read this earlier in our responsive reading. Paul says, I want to proclaim to you the Gospel. And this Gospel is confirmed by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. When He was raised from the dead, He was seen by at least 500 people in one spot. And most of those people, you can go talk to them. They're alive to this day. Not 2013 here. Back in AD 50 when 1 Corinthians was written. Go and talk to them. They saw the resurrected Christ. You can get first-hand witness of the reality. That's how he proved the resurrection. Go talk to the people that saw him. This is confidence, friends. What is it that's accomplished by the resurrection? What are the benefits of the resurrection? This is what I want to talk about for a couple minutes here. the benefits of the resurrection. And it will kind of draw our attention to why there would be an opposing force, satanic, demonic, and fleshly, that would say, no, let's not believe in this resurrection factor. Because we want people to miss out on the benefits here of the resurrection. I want to just pose seven benefits of the resurrection in the next few minutes. The first one is victory over sin. We like the term victory, don't we? When you play something, you want to win. If you're pulling for a team, you want them to win. Nobody really likes cheering for a loser or being on a losing team. We like the word victory. Well, if you want to find victory, you're going to find the ultimate victor in the person of Jesus Christ. Victorious in every possible way. First of all, victory over sin. In Isaiah 53.10, God's Word says, Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him, and he put him to grief when you make his soul an offering for sin. An offering for sin. Jesus was giving his life as a sacrifice on account of sin. The Bible tells us in 1 John 2 and verse 2, and he himself, Jesus, is the propitiation, that word means the settlement of God's wrath against sin. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world. Jesus made a payment. It was sufficient. It was enough for each one. Victory over sin. In John 1, verse 29, you remember John the Baptist, he didn't have many words to say, but when he said something, it sounded like this, Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Jesus is victorious over sin through the resurrection. But He wasn't just victorious over sin. He was victorious over Satan. In Hebrews 2, verse 14, God's Word says this, Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself, Jesus, likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil. What did He destroy? The devil. victorious over Satan. You look at all the opposing forces in this world. Look at all the jockeying for position. Listen, Jesus doesn't have to jockey with anybody. Jesus is the Christ. Jesus is the Lamb of God. Jesus is the King of Kings. And Jesus is the Lord of Lords. He's my King. I wonder if He's yours. Victory over Satan. In 1 John 3, the Apostle John said this, He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. He's talking about continuous sin, not a sin. He who is constantly practicing sin is of the devil. For this purpose, the Son of God was manifest that he might destroy the works of the devil. It's interesting that God's word gives us very great clarity. Satan may try to thwart us, Satan may try to oppose us, but when a person knows Jesus Christ is their Savior, and they're walking in the power of the Spirit, which is another way of saying putting on the whole armor of God, what can Satan do to us? Nothing. Because the Apostle John also said, greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world. That's Jesus Christ. Victory over sin, victory over Satan, victory over death. Victory over death. In Hebrews chapter 2 and verse 15, God's word says this, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. What is he talking about? You ever afraid to die? Have you ever been afraid to die? Are you right now afraid to die? I would ask you, if you're afraid to die, why? What are you afraid of? What's going to happen when you die? What's going to go on? Jesus came and His resurrection releases us from fear of death if we know Jesus Christ is our Savior because we know what's on the other side. We know where we're going. We know where we'll spend eternity. We leave from this life where we have pain and sorrow and we deal with glory and joy. There's no contest here. Victory over death. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul said, O grave, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting? The strength of The power of death is sin. The strength of sin is the law. And then he goes on, he says in verse 57, but thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Victory over death! Victory over the pain of death, the sting of death, the power of death. He goes on, he tells us as a result of the resurrection that we have a great high priest. A great high priest. What is that about? You know, you don't have to go through anyone else to talk to God. This is what Jesus provided through the resurrection. The Bible tells us in Hebrews chapter four and verse 14, that he is our great high priest. He's passed through the heavens in first Timothy chapter 2 and verse 15. The Bible says that there is one God and one mediator between God and men. What's his name? The man, Christ Jesus. It goes on to tell us that he was ransomed for our sin. He paid for our sin. How many of our sins? All of them. Another benefit of the resurrection, not only victory over sin and victory over Satan, victory over death, the provision of a great high priest, there's also this great provision of the Holy Spirit. In John 16, verse 7, Jesus said, Nevertheless, I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away. For if I do not go away, the Helper, the Holy Spirit, will not come to you. But if I depart, I will send Him to you. What does that mean in practical terms? God says here in this passage, the big idea is this. When Jesus left and he provides the spirit, he's saying, I will give you everything you need to accomplish what I've asked you to do. That's called grace. It's grace. We live every moment as believers in the complete shroud and envelopment of grace. We receive God's forgiveness by His mercy. We receive His righteousness by His grace. And we can live each day empowered by Him. through grace. This is a result of the resurrection. Without the resurrection, there's no sending of the Spirit. Because it was during the ascension of Jesus Christ back into heaven that He laid out the Holy Spirit. He poured Him out there in Jerusalem. Provision also of assurance of the resurrection. I want to draw your attention to this, please. You're in the book of Acts. We're going to take a right. Go through the book of Romans and into the book of 1 Corinthians 15, please. 1 Corinthians 15. There are benefits associated with the resurrection. We're just listing them. And we're not gonna even list all of them. We're only gonna list seven benefits of the resurrection. Victory over sin, victory over Satan, victory over death, the provision of a great high priest, the provision of a Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit. Number six, provision of assurance of resurrection. Whose resurrection? The resurrection of those that have trusted Jesus Christ as their Savior. Just as He rose, so we, as His believers, as His followers, we rise also. Verse 20 of 1 Corinthians 15. He says, but now Christ is risen from the dead and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, Capital M, by man, Jesus, also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. For each one in his own order, Christ the firstfruits. Afterward, those who are Christ's that is coming. God's Word just laid it out for you. You want to be raised at the last day. You want to spend eternity with God forever. It only comes as a result of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He is the firstfruits. Everyone knows what firstfruits are. Right? We don't talk about it like this. But you're a chef. Or you're a cook. And you're cooking. And you taste what you're cooking along the way, don't you? You're getting a little sample of it. You want to make sure you're not going to serve someone something that's horrific. I'm the grill master in my house. Always, you know, whenever there's something that goes on the grill, I'm doing it. And I cook it, you know. And then, you know, you've got to make sure that it's cooked properly. So you cut a little piece off. Oh, yeah, that's cooked. And it tastes good. That's first fruits. Now, first fruits is an agricultural term in reality. The farmer gets the first portion of the fruits. It's the best that they can get. But the concept is Jesus rose. Those who trust Jesus will rise. I will rise. How about you? Have you trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior? So one day you will rise and eternally be with Him. Assurance of resurrection. One last, and it's related. It's almost the same concept here. The seventh benefit of the resurrection Provision of eternal life. It really is associated with that last concept here. Look with me at the book of Romans. You're in 1 Corinthians. Just take a left. One book. Romans chapter 4. Romans chapter 4. Provision of eternal life. In verse 24 of Romans 4, we're going to actually read right into chapter 5 as we see this context. And the context is this. Paul has been saying, listen, Abraham is an example of someone that receives righteousness by faith. That's what he talks about in chapter 4. Abraham received righteousness by faith. And then he starts to turn the page to apply it, beginning in verse 24. Look what it says. But also for us, It, righteousness, shall be imputed to us who believe in Him, who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses and was raised because of or for our justification. Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand and rejoice in hope. of the glory of God. Now listen, I've got to explain in a technical term here, but it is the most precious and important technical term that you'll ever learn in your life. It's called justification. It is the most important technical word you'll ever encounter. This passage tells us that justification comes by faith. Great! But what is justification? Well, it tells us we're going to have peace. That's not defining justification. Justification, in its theological backdroppings, as you look at God's Word, it's very clear. Two concepts that are involved in justification. I try to keep things simple. It makes like an X, okay? When you think justification, think X. Alright? Let's picture over here, we have Christ. And picture over here, we have me. Christ, me. Records in heaven. God has His book opened. And here's the book. On this side of the ledger is Christ. On this side of the ledger is me. What happens in the process of justification is this. The first step is this. The removal of my sin. So all those things that have been written down about me, because I'm a sinner just like everybody else, all those things that are written down about me, they're removed from my account. not ambiguously, not thrown in the garbage can, not deleted unceremoniously. They are placed on another account. Who's over here? Christ. Remember what the Bible says? For He became sin for us who knew no sin. There's justification in the first part. Removal of my sin. And we have the second phase of justification that takes place. Because Jesus Christ's righteousness, all the things that are accrued through His obedience and fulfillment of the law of God and the plan of God in obedience to the Father, all of those righteousnesses are placed on my account. So now, what we have here is Christ made sin for us. Me made righteousness through Christ. We've got this great exchange. Sin. Righteousness. You see how it's an X? It's a record. How does this take place? By faith. When we trust Jesus Christ as our Savior, God removes our record of sin and the debt that we have incurred through our sinfulness. Jesus Christ received the wrath of God against our sin when He hung on the cross. Remember the whole sky turned black in that time? You remember the horrific words of the Lord Jesus Christ? Remember? My God, my God, why have Thou forsaken Me? Why? He became sin for us. that we, over here, might become the righteousness of God through Him. Through Him! Pastor Bill, before he prayed this morning, read from Philippians chapter 3. And in verse 9 is one of the most important verses on this topic. We receive the righteousness of God through faith. That's what it tells us. The righteousness of God through faith. It's the only way it comes. It doesn't come by being good. It doesn't come by perfect obedience. It doesn't come by doing good deeds. It doesn't come by putting some money in an offering plate. It doesn't come by showing up at church. It doesn't come by singing a song. It doesn't come by anything other than faith. The Bible record is clear. It is absolutely the truth. Okay, great. So, many people know that Jesus was born as a baby. They know He grew up. Many people will assent to the fact that Jesus was perfect. They will agree, yes, I know Jesus hung on a cross. I know it was for the sins of the whole world. I know He was in a tomb. I know He rose from the dead. We grew up learning it. Maybe you have, maybe you didn't. I don't know. Not everyone in this day and age knows this, but a lot of people in history have figured this out. They've been brought up under these teachings. Does that make a person safe because they know all this information? No. One more passage of Scripture for your consideration. You're already in the book of Romans. Look at chapter 10. Romans chapter 10. There must be a point There must be a point when you call upon the Lord Jesus Christ for your salvation. We don't just grow up into this. Oh yeah, I know all this truth. I know all this information. That's not enough, friends. There's got to be a time in our lives. And you don't have to have it written on a piece of paper. Oh yes, it was at this time on this date. It doesn't have to be recorded forever as a distinctive date. The issue is there had to be a time where we said, ah, I see the fact that Jesus died. He died because I'm a sinner. My sin put him there. Jesus died and he bore the wrath of God for my sin. Jesus, when he rose again, he rose again triumphant over my sin. Yeah, this is good. God wants to righteously and justly save me from my sin. And He's done that through Jesus Christ. But the Bible says we must first believe that in our heart, and then we must confess that with our mouth. Look at Romans 10. It says that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. And he summarizes it in verse 13. For whosoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Listen, there needs to be a time that you say, I see what Christ has done. I believe what Christ has done. It's true for me. I need that salvation. Lord, please save me. What will He do? Well, I'll think about it. I'll get back to you later. It's not what that passage says. Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall, without a doubt, be saved. You know, there's satanic opposition, and it seeks to undermine faith in the resurrected Christ, and it seeks to undermine the value of the resurrected Christ. Yeah, it's not that big of a deal, or no, I don't believe it. Yeah, it's good that Jesus died, it's good that He paid for sin, but it's not enough. It's not enough. There's something more that needs to be done that's undermining the value of the resurrection, isn't it? If Jesus' death was not sufficient, if Jesus' resurrection was not sufficient, I've got to do something? I've got to add to this? Well, thanks Jesus, you've done a really great job. I appreciate your part. Now I'm going to do mine. That's not what the Scriptures say. Jesus' resurrection is not an urban legend. Jesus has, in fact, risen from the dead. His resurrection produces a myriad of benefits to the one who places their faith in Christ. Don't be like one of Jesus' first disciples, and I'm not talking about Judas. Who am I talking about? Thomas. Do you remember Thomas? Do you remember the scene? Can you almost picture the scene of Thomas and Jesus in your head? Listen to what he said in John 20, verse 25. It's on the screen behind me. Unless I see his hands in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the prints of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe." This is the condition that much of society has put themselves in today, in this day and age. I don't believe that. Some men wrote that book. Oh, there are errors in that book. Oh, there are contradictions in that book. No one can show them to us. They just say, you know, someone told me sometime there was an error in there. Or a lot of errors. And lots of contradictions. Bring them. Where are they? This book is divine. This isn't the end of the story for Thomas, is it? Thomas is encountered with a resurrected Christ. Just a couple of verses later, it says, then Jesus said to Thomas, reach your finger here and look at my hands and reach your hand here and put it in my side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing. And Thomas answered and said, my Lord and my God, Jesus said something to say to him, and his words apply to this day. Jesus said to him, Thomas, because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believed. I don't know where you stand. I know a lot of you. I know a lot of your testimonies. But where do you stand in this matter? Has Jesus Christ done enough to obtain your eternal salvation? Has the work of Jesus Christ made an impact upon you to recognize, I'm free from my sin! I'm alive in Christ! I have an eternity with God! Listen, that can be your testimony. The call on you is this. Trust Jesus Christ and what He has done. It is enough to obtain your eternal salvation. But the choice is yours. Let's pray together. Father, we come in humble adoration of You, of Your Son, Jesus Christ, whom You have sent. We are amazed that You sent Him to bear the weight of sinners of whom I am chief. Thank You, Father. Thank you for your plan. Thank you for fulfilling your plan. Thank you for recording the glorious gospel concerning Jesus Christ in your word. Thank you for the Spirit of God who illuminates our minds that we can comprehend spiritual truth. I thank you for the testimony of those who have gone before us that have passed on the teaching But most of all, we are just in awe of the sacrifice that was made through Jesus Christ and the glorious power in raising Him from the dead, triumphant, triumphant over everything. Father, we pray that those of us that have trusted Jesus Christ as our Savior would leave here brimming with enthusiasm and joy and rejoicing in our soul because of who you are and what you've done. And we pray, Father, for anyone here that's never trusted Jesus Christ as their Savior, that even this day would be the day of their salvation, that they would realize that we're not saved just with information, we're saved with belief and calling upon the name of the Lord. And this hour, we pray that you might do that work. Accomplish your will, be glorified. May we please you in every way, in Jesus' name, amen.