Resurrection Victory: Be Steadfast, Immovable, Abound in Service

without the resurrection of Jesus Christ, our faith is useless. We are liars because we're false prophets who perpetuate this tale. And so we are still guilty before God, still in our sins, lost, and hopeless. To put it another way, to put it very simply, either the tomb is empty or our faith is empty. Either the tomb is empty or our faith is empty. But Jesus is the forerunner of the great resurrection. He is proof positive of our own resurrection to come. [01:07:53] (39 seconds)  #TombOrFaithEmpty

We say that that that that the enemy of our souls, the devil is like a a roaring lion. Right? Seeking whom he may devour. And I'll say this often. I'm like, listen, friends. That's true. And he can inflict a great deal of pain. But because of the resurrection, that old lion is toothless and has no claws. Amen. That's right. Because even if he takes you out and he'll try, it's not the end of our story. Because Jesus has conquered death, no lesser enemy in our life should cause us any fear. We have nothing left to fear. [01:19:43] (44 seconds)  #LionToothless

The central tenets of the gospel message are Christ's death for sin, his burial, and his resurrection, and they are all founded upon this phrase that's repeated according to the scriptures. He's saying everything that Jesus did in his life and death and his earthly ministry is in accordance with the countless prophecies that were fulfilled in the Old Testament. And so, any gospel that runs contrary to this is a false gospel, and it must be rejected. Any any gospel that comes along that is contrary to this very thing that Jesus came to die for sins, that that he that he was buried and that he rose again the third day, anything that runs contrary to that, anything that's tried to add to that is a false gospel. [00:59:41] (55 seconds)  #GospelRootedInResurrection

A lot of folks wonder, why do believers that I know who have faced cancer or faced imminent death, why does it seem like they have so much peace? It's because of the resurrection of Jesus. We know that death on this side of eternity doesn't put a period in our story. It's just a semi colon. It's just it's just turning the page. This life that we live on this side of eternity is gonna be but a blip and everlasting. It's gonna be just a short period of time. That's why we gotta make the most of it. [01:17:57] (34 seconds)  #DeathIsNotTheEnd

But, what Paul is saying is, cling tightly to the truth. We must fiercely guard the gospel and biblical doctrine. It should be our aim to be a people of the book. Again, holding fast to the word of God is proof positive of sincere saving trust in Jesus Christ. It is the endurance of faith, but also it also means that we are to be steadfast in our character, is living out that truth. We've talked about this before, but it's important that we understand both orthodoxy and orthopraxy. [01:23:26] (38 seconds)  #GuardTheGospel

He gives this to us to say that the bible must be our filter. Always. This is the final word. Are you all with me? There there are lots of people out there preaching a different gospel. There there are churches that are meeting today, and I use that term very loosely. There are gatherings of people that like to call themselves churches meeting today, preaching a very different gospel than that. And it is a false gospel, and they are false prophets. And so it is very important that we understand this. And Paul said the very same thing. He said, listen, you gotta get these things right. [01:00:37] (44 seconds)  #ScriptureIsOurFilter

And so, at the at the end of all of this, what I want us to understand is the the thrust of Paul's argument is that the gospel consists of objective facts that can be substantiated by historical and experiential evidence, as well as sound logic and a scripturally based theological foundation. This is Paul's main point. And so because resurrection is coming and death has been defeated, we live in victory over sin and the grave. [01:16:30] (33 seconds)  #ResurrectionIsProvenHope

We don't say that because we just wanna add numbers. That's not what this is about. It's not about money. It's not about building. It's not about budgets. It's not it's not about even bodies in the seats and people. That's not what it's about. It is about building the kingdom of God. It is about sharing the good news of Jesus with those that need it desperately. And so we can work for Jesus with enthusiasm knowing that our labor on this side of eternity has eternal ramifications. [01:31:47] (32 seconds)  #LaborWithEternalImpact