Sunday, February 11, 2024 AM

Let's go to the Lord together in prayer, having the Father, we thank you for gathering us here today.

When I thank you for the way that you provide for us. Thank you for the way that you are patient and long suffering.

We thank you for your mercies that are new every morning, for your compassions, because they fail not to praise you for your faithfulness, for it is indeed great.

We ask here this morning, as we turn our attention to your word. Granted by your spirit concerning your son, that you would build us up on our most holy faith, that you would establish us upon the truth of the gospel and that you would transform our lives, renewing us into the image of your beloved son.

So that all would be for our good and to your glory, we look to you.

Asking for these mercies for the sake of your only begotten son, with whom you are well pleased.

Amen. I invite you to open your Bibles and turn with me to Acts chapter 13.

Acts chapter 13, and we'll be reading verses 30 through 41.

We're in the middle of a sermon that Paul is giving to some

Jews and some God -fearers who have gathered on the Sabbath in the synagogue in a city called

Antioch at Pisidia, a Roman colony up in the hills.

Paul and Barnabas have traveled hundreds of miles by boat and by foot, and God has brought them thus far.

And Paul has been invited by the leaders of the synagogue to give any word of exhortation.

A visiting scholar, a recognized rabbi trained at the feet of Gamaliel, they are happy to have him.

And rather than provide some normal word of exhortation from the

Torah, from Moses, or from the Nevi 'im, the prophets, or the Ketuvim, the writings, rather than taking up the

Tanakh, the Old Testament, and preaching to them some way of improving their lives, some key to better living,

Paul preaches to them the glad tidings of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And that's where we are right now.

Paul drawing their attention to the truths of the Scriptures and showing them that this

Jesus of Nazareth is indeed the Christ, the Son of the living God. He was put to death by those who should have honored

Him, and He was raised to life by God Himself to show that this

Jesus indeed is the Messiah. When we think about the theme of the resurrection, we find that it is all throughout the book of Acts.

You can't read half a chapter without coming by some phrase, some story, some sermon that emphasizes the fact that Jesus is risen, that He is risen indeed.

You can't make sense of the book of Acts unless Jesus Christ has been raised the third day, ascended to the right hand of the

Father. The resurrection of Jesus is all throughout Peter's preaching in Acts chapter 2 and Acts 3 and Acts 10.

It's all through Stephen's preaching in Acts chapter 7. It's all through Paul's preaching.

This is the high point. This is the focus of the apostolic preaching in the book of Acts, the heartbeat of the good news.

I invite you to stand with me as we read further reading in the sermon that Paul is preaching to these

Jews and God -fearers at Antioch. Acts chapter 13, beginning in verse 30.

But God raised Him from the dead. He was seen for many days by those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are

His witnesses to the people. And we declare to you glad tidings, that promise which was made to the fathers.

God has fulfilled this for us, their children, in that He has raised up Jesus.

As it is also written in the second psalm, you are my son, today

I have begotten you. And that He raised Him from the dead no more to return to corruption,

He has spoken thus, I will give you the sure mercies of David.

Therefore, He also says in another psalm, you will not allow your Holy One to see corruption.

For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and saw corruption, but he whom

God raised up saw no corruption. Therefore, let it be known to you, brethren, that through this man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins, and that by Him, everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.

Beware, therefore, lest what has been spoken in the prophets come upon you, behold, you despisers marvel and perish.

For I work a work in your days, a work which you will by no means believe, though one were to declare it to you."

This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. You may be seated. Every Sunday at Calvary Hill Baptist Church up in Guthrie, when my dad pastored there for two and a half years, every

Sunday for two and a half years, the very last song we sung before we departed was the one we sang here last

Sunday. Because He lives. Because He lives.

Every single Sunday, we departed singing that song.

Forgive me if I miss a note. God sent His Son, they called

Him Jesus. Sing with me. He came to love, heal, and forgive.

He lived and died to buy my pardon.

An empty grave is there to prove my

Savior lives. Because He lives,

I can face tomorrow. Because He lives, all fear is gone.

Because I know

He holds the future, and life is worth the living just because He lives.

You know how fast I bolted from my pew when that was done? As fast as I was allowed to.

I had to sit up front right over there. I had to sit perfectly still. And I knew when that song was sung and those floor -to -ceiling windows were full of bright sun, the prospect of getting out of there and going and playing was all

I could think about. I knew that when that song was sung,

I was ready to go play. Now, as an adult,

I think about the deep, rich teachings of Scripture that undergird the simple words of this

Gaither classic, and I face tomorrow.

Tomorrow has a big hold on us. Tomorrow very often occupies our thoughts.

Tomorrow very often weighs us down. It wilders us. We spend a lot of time thinking about tomorrow.

How well do we walk in the light of this truth that He lives, that Jesus Christ is risen?

What joy do we derive on a daily basis given the fact that Jesus Christ is alive and well and reigning at the right hand of the

Father? The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most important fact in all of history.

It is the fundamental driving force of creation. It is the anchor point for all that lies ahead.

It is not a neutral observation. It is not an inert reality. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is most divisive, most determining, most defining, most demanding.

None of us can remain ambivalent or ignorant. Casual concerning the risen

Lord Jesus Christ. Amen, Nora. Amen. So glad the babies are with us today.

You know, the fact is the resurrection of Jesus Christ is true whether or not we acknowledge it.

It is true whether or not we affirm it. It is true whether or not we apply it. But brothers and sisters, let us do all three.

Let us acknowledge it. Let us affirm it. Let us apply it. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most vital, most happy, most serious news.

And we ought to be certain about it. If there's anything that we can be certain about, it is this, the resurrection of the

Lord Jesus Christ. This is what we ought to be concerned about. This is what we ought to be captivated by, that our

Lord is risen and at the right hand of God. This truth that Paul preached to his audience mattered for their every day and it mattered for their ever after.

And so it is with us. So it is with us. Now, we talked about the power of the resurrection in verse 30.

But God raised Him from the dead. But God raised Him from the dead.

This despite the clear will of man, despite the conspiracy of man, despite the evil of man, despite the reality of death, despite it all,

God raised Him from the dead. The power of the resurrection should be on our minds.

The power of the resurrection ought to shape our hearts. And we ought to be utterly confident in it.

For God offers us proof. The proof of the resurrection in verse 31. Paul makes this huge statement, but God raised

Him from the dead. And then he immediately backs it up with proof. Verse 31. He was seen for many days by those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem who are

His witnesses to the people. So we see that it was important for Paul to stress the factuality, the genuineness, the reliability of his message.

He doesn't simply say this wonderful thing and then leave it for them to wonder whether or not it could possibly be true.

I mean, the previous statements that he has made just demand a follow -up. Put yourself in the position of the

Jews there in the synagogue, the God -fearers there in the synagogue in Antioch of Pisidia, hundreds and hundreds of miles away from Jerusalem, from where these events took place.

And you were just told that the leading scholars, the leading religious authorities of the day who reside in Jerusalem, those who had better access to the scriptures than we do out here in Antioch of Pisidia, those who were the leading academic thinkers of the time, they did not know the prophets,

Paul said. Excuse me? If anybody knows the prophets and knows what they mean and tells us what they mean, it's those folks in Jerusalem.

They know the scriptures. They memorize the scriptures. They obey the scriptures.

They proclaim the scriptures. They even copy out whole scrolls of the scriptures.

Surely, they know the prophets. But you're telling me they don't know the prophets? Paul says, no, they didn't know the prophets because if they had, they would not have crucified the

Lord of glory. But they did. Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, the Son of the living

God. Here comes the Messiah in their midst, doing signs and wonders and declaring the kingdom of heaven.

Thus saith the word of the scriptures. Here's what it all means. And they rejected him and they murdered him at the hands of wicked men.

That in itself is pretty amazing to claim. You'd have to really convince me that the authorities or the religious experts got it all wrong.

Well, that's proven to you just fine because God raised him up from the dead, proving that indeed

Jesus is the Messiah. Well, now you've just made a greater claim. Now you've said something even more amazing than the religious leaders getting it wrong.

Now you're telling me that God raised Jesus of Nazareth from the dead.

And Paul doesn't wait around for them to say, prove it. He doesn't wait for them to say, you've got to show us something for us to believe you.

He immediately backs up this claim of the gospel, this good news of the resurrection with proof, with proof.

And what is the proof? Notice again, he was seen.

All right. He was seen by who? How many times was he seen? He was seen for many days.

It wasn't a one sighting. It wasn't just a chance glimpse. But he was seen for many days, day after day after day in perpetuity.

He was seen by whom? By those who came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem.

Those who had traveled with him along the seashores to the villages of Galilee.

Those who had been on parade with him on Palm Sunday entering into Jerusalem. They saw

Jesus raised from the dead. They spent many days with him. And he taught them.

And he ate with them. And he confronted them. And he forgave them.

And he gave them promises. And he gave them hope. He gave them instructions. And he let them see his ascension into heaven.

And he assured them by his angels of his return. These who knew

Jesus and fully encountered him raised from the dead,

Paul says, are currently Christ's witnesses to the people. Paul's saying, fact check me.

There are a lot of witnesses out there. They saw him. They talked to him.

And they are currently this body of witnesses declaring to everyone that, in fact,

Jesus rose from the dead. In that preeminent chapter on the resurrection, 1

Corinthians chapter 15, Paul offers three kinds of proof of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

He offers those same three proofs here in this sermon to the

Jews in Antioch of Pisidia. Also in 1 Corinthians 15, he declares the significance of the resurrection and emphasizes why it is so important that we are absolutely confident that Jesus Christ rose from the dead.

He also shows the significance of the resurrection here in our passage. So we're going to walk through the significance of the resurrection and the three proofs of the resurrection, both here in Acts 13 and in 1

Corinthians 15, and let scripture interpret scripture and reinforce. What is the significance of the resurrection?

And what are the proofs that God has given to us that we may be confident in this central glad tiding?

We hear the significance of the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15, and Paul starts off with it in verses one and two.

He says, This is a whole chapter on the resurrection.

So he's saying, I've preached to you the gospel. I've proclaimed to you the glad tidings. This is what

I've been saying before. This is what I'm saying now. This is the truth that you have held on to by which you have hope of being saved.

Of course, you may have believed in vain, and he's not talking about the depth of their sincerity.

He's not talking about them believing the same strength every day. He's not talking about whether or not they doubt.

That's not his concern. He's saying, if you believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross as God's righteous sacrifice in your place and for your sake, and that God raised him from the dead so that you are justified before him and have eternal life with him forever, your belief is in vain if he didn't raise from the dead.

It's empty. The truths that make up the gospel, this vital word proclaimed necessarily includes the resurrection, a doctrine under fire in Paul's day, a doctrine under fire in our day.

But just how important is the resurrection? He says in 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?

Paul states it plainly in verse 13. But if there is no resurrection from the dead, then

Christ is not risen, and if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is here at empty, and your faith is also empty.

The content of your faith, the power of your faith, the force of it, your faith in God, this faith alone, which by grace alone is in Christ alone, is emptied, vacated, erased if Jesus Christ is not raised from the dead.

So how important is it? How vital is it that we believe that Jesus has been raised?

We have no hope and any hope of our resurrection from the dead, of our souls being reunited with our bodies recreated in glory.

All of that is gone. Paul goes on to say in verse 17, and if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile.

You are still in your sins. Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.

If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.

Let me ask you, how important is it that Christ is risen from the dead? And how important is it that we know that we have proof that we stand confidently in this?

Paul shows that the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is information vital to the preaching of the gospel.

We don't have glad tidings if He's not alive. Paul preaches that to the

Jews in Antioch of Pisidia as well. He repeatedly emphasizes that God has raised

Christ to die no more according to the Psalms. And then Paul says in verse 38 of Acts 13, it's the same significance.

Therefore, let it be known to you, brethren, that through this man, not because of this man who once lived, but through this man, current, present now, is preached to you the forgiveness of sins by him, not because of him, not a cause and effect that once he was done and gone, now there's something going on now, but by him, present tense, because of his ministry at the right hand, by him, everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.

Moses is past tense, Jesus is present tense. Moses is dead, his ministry has come to an end, but Jesus Christ is alive and he is our mediator at the right hand.

And so, verse 40, he says, beware. Beware, therefore, lest what has been spoken in the prophets has come upon you.

Behold, ye despisers marvel and perish, for I work a work in your days, a work which you will by no means believe, though there were one to declare it to you.

So he's saying the work that he works is what? It's the resurrection from the dead.

It's the thing that the Jews denied. They didn't deny that he died on the cross. They didn't deny that he was a miracle worker.

They didn't deny that he had a mastery over the scriptures. They didn't deny those things. They denied that he rose from the dead.

So it's most critical that his resurrection be proclaimed to this audience.

Now, Paul, having established the significance of the resurrection from the dead, also offers us three proofs.

God gives us three proofs, both in 1 Corinthians 15 and in Acts 13. But I find it interesting.

In 1 Corinthians, what is he up to? What is he doing? He is strengthening the faith of believers.

He's saying, he's trying to stabilize them. There are some among you. He didn't say that they were

Christians themselves. He's saying there's just some among you spreading some deceit, spreading some false teaching that there is no resurrection from the dead.

Other false teachers said that it already had happened in some fashion that nobody really noticed. The point was that to believe in the resurrection from the dead went against every single principle of the accepted understanding of how the world works.

In Paul's day, Greek philosophy reigned supreme, and the whole goal was to be rid of your mortal body, to get rid of the flesh, and to become totally spiritual and ethereal, and this is where true spirituality and true holiness was.

Get rid of that old body. You don't want that flesh. The physical and the mortal is innately evil.

You want to become entirely spiritual, which is why when Paul was talking about the gospel of Jesus Christ and preaching about His death and resurrection, he said that it was foolishness to the

Greeks and a stumbling block to the Jews. The Jews who controlled the temple, the

Sadducees, didn't believe in the resurrection. The Pharisees themselves didn't believe in a suffering

Messiah who would die on a cross and be cursed for their behalf. The Gentiles thought it was foolishness because the whole idea was to leave your mortal body behind.

Why would you ever want it back? The message of the gospel did not accord with the times, not with Paul's times or not with our times.

It goes against everything that is considered accepted wisdom and accepted truth in our day.

Resurrection from the dead, well, that's not what studies have shown.

You know, I can't find a collection of experts anywhere who have published some peer -reviewed journals on the science of this, so it can't be true.

That's just not medically sound. There would be a resurrection from the dead. It does not accord with the principles of Paul's day.

It doesn't accord with the principles of our day, and yet the resurrection of Jesus Christ is most vital.

This word is preached to the saved, 1 Corinthians 15, and to the unsaved, Acts 13. Not only is

Paul trying to stabilize the brethren against false teaching about teachings of the world infiltrating the church, but he also preaches these same proofs to the unbelievers in Antioch of Pisidia.

In other words, these proofs are for the saved and for the unsaved.

They do their work in edification and in evangelization, insofar as God chooses to make them effectual.

That's His secret will, but His revealed will is that we preach them to every creature under heaven, that Jesus is risen from the dead.

What are the three proofs? The first proof that we can think about is the biblical proof, the biblical proof that Jesus is raised from the dead.

Paul's sermon in Acts 13 has already summarized the biblical, the proof that it's a biblical, redemptive, historical storyline that culminates in Christ.

He also quotes from the Psalms to prove that they have their fulfillment in Jesus' resurrection, not in David's own ministry.

They were declaring of someone greater than David. So Paul is saying, look at the Scriptures.

Consider Psalm 2. Consider these other Psalms. Consider that the prophecies that God made through His servants and the promises

He made to David are resolved in Jesus Christ and His resurrection from the dead. And the 15th chapter in 1

Corinthians, Paul does the very same thing. 1 Corinthians 15, verses 3 and 4, he says,

I delivered to you, first of all, that which I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the

Scriptures, and that He was buried, that He rose again the third day according to the

Scriptures. Where does Paul put the emphasis? Where does he point his hearers to be edified and strengthened in their faith in the resurrection?

He says, it's according to the Scriptures. The gospel that I preached to you is according to the Word of God. Thus saith the

Lord, so it is. I bring you the message of the gospel. It's from the Scriptures. I think it's remarkable and essential that we begin here for our proof.

That too is countercultural. It is also something that does not accord with a modern mindset or a postmodern mindset.

The modern mindset who would say that we must go to some sort of, it's mythical, but neutral ground where we can examine all manner of evidences to come to a conclusion, and the postmodern mind which rejects all of that and says, it doesn't matter what you believe as long as you believe it.

Your truth is your truth. My truth is my truth. And so they look for the authority in the individual, and the moderns look for the authority in the academy.

But what does the Bible say? How is the believer edified? How is the unbeliever exhorted to trust in Christ as risen from the dead?

Look at the Scriptures. Look at the Scriptures. Folks today want to put the

Bible in its place. Oh, it doesn't belong here. It belongs over there. It doesn't belong here.

It belongs over there. It reminds me of the story of my seminary professor who did a stint up in the

Northeast. And he would meet new folks, and he would say, in New York, he'd say, oh, you guys are the

Yankees. I'm from the South. He'd say, oh, no, we're not the Yankees. The Yankees, they live up north of us. So he'd go up north from them, and he'd say,

I guess you guys are the Yankees. And they'd say, no, that's not us. Hey, they live up in Maine. And after a few years, he got a trip to Maine.

So he went up to Maine, eager to find some Yankees. He said, okay, so you guys are the Yankees. He said, oh, no, they live down on the coast.

He could never find the Yankees. In our world today, we can't find the place for the

Bible, can we? Oh, it doesn't belong in the statehouse. It doesn't belong in the courtroom. It doesn't belong in the schools.

It belongs somewhere else. It belongs over there. Oh, it doesn't belong in the workforce.

It doesn't belong in the corporation. It belongs somewhere over there.

Oh, it doesn't belong in the family, or it doesn't belong even in the church. Just keep it private between you and God.

Mild inspiration to help you through life. One of many vitamins that you might want to take on a daily basis.

Why start with the Bible? Why not just unhitch from the Bible? Assume that the

Bible is unreliable and just go with historical eyewitness accounts. Why not take the Andy Stanley approach?

Quote, we don't believe in the resurrection because of the Bible. We believe in the

Bible because of the resurrection. And wherever science disagrees, science must win.

Well, he must be right. He's got 24 ,000 people coming to his church. But what do you do when you try to explain the significance of the resurrection?

What does it mean? What does it mean? And where are those eyewitness accounts, by the way?

They're in the Bible? Lately termed unreliable? Well, you guys are smart.

You're catching on. The light of the world.

Jesus Christ provides us clarity on the meaning and reliability of the eyewitness testimony.

And we do not have Christ if we reject his word. Abiding in him, he says, means that his word abides in us.

Without the scriptures, without the grace of divine revelation, were the men on the road to Emmaus face to face with the risen

Christ without understanding of who he is or why it even matters that he's alive. It is

Christ who opens up the scriptures and gives us understanding. It's only then that we have real eyewitnesses to the resurrection.

Eyewitness proof is important. And it is offered to us in the scriptures. And it is persuasive proof.

But we begin with the scriptures. The biblical proof and the eyewitness proof.

Paul states in verse 31 of Acts 13, that indeed, there are many credible, proven eyewitnesses who readily testify to the truth of Jesus' resurrection.

But he offers even more detail in 1 Corinthians 15, verse 5. He was seen by Cephas and then by the 12.

After that, he was seen by over 500 brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep.

I love that. Jesus' favorite euphemism for death. It's no trouble for him to wake the dead up, is it?

After that, he was seen by James, then by all the apostles. Then the last of all, he was seen by me also as one born out of due time.

So we see Paul's point. Who knew Jesus better than Peter and the rest of the apostles?

So these witnesses are high in quality. And he was seen by over 500 brethren at the same time.

So these witnesses are great in quantity. And then Paul lets the Corinthians know that the majority of these witnesses are still currently alive and be able to testify.

You know, the Greek word for witness is where we get our word martyr from, martyress.

Paul mentions that some have fallen asleep. The greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep.

Some had died. Maybe it was from sickness. Maybe it was from old age in the 20 years that had transpired between Christ's resurrection and this letter.

But more likely, it had been those who had died who had been martyred like James and Stephen. You talk about the quintessential witness is the one who says,

I don't care what you say or what sword you point at my throat. Jesus is alive. I saw him. I'll die for the truth.

Quintessential witnesses are brought in. And the 500, the rest of the 500 that are still alive,

Paul is basically saying, go find them, talk to them, question them. They're ready. They're ready to tell you. They're eager to tell you.

But not only do we have all those kinds of witnesses, we even have the witnesses who would at one point rather have not been a witness.

We have the quarrelsome. We have Jesus appearing to his own doubting brother,

James. Remember, James was part of the group, said, who came to him with his mother and said, Hey, you know, you need to come home.

You're off your rocker. What are you doing? James didn't believe him. But Jesus appeared to James.

And then James became a pastor in Jerusalem and died in 862, preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.

And what about Paul himself, the great enemy of the church, who is breathing threats and murder against the church?

Well, he became an eyewitness of the risen Lord Jesus Christ, didn't he? So think about all the different types of eyewitness accounts.

I hope you feel the weight of them. There are others that we could go into, but this is just a portion of them.

Not only do we have this eyewitness proof and the biblical proof, we also have the personal proof of the resurrection.

In Acts 13, Paul and Barnabas have risked their lives, abused their bodies. They have sailed and hiked hundreds and hundreds of miles to a

Roman colony to tell these Jews of this news. And they're not selling a product.

They're not running a con. They're not asking for handouts. They're not running for office. What could have possibly compelled them to come all this way other than the truth of the resurrection and its personal effect upon them?

And Paul gets at that in 1 Corinthians as well. 1 Corinthians 15, verses 9 through 11. He says, I am the least of the apostles.

I am not worthy to be called an apostle because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God, I am what

I am. And the grace toward me was not in vain. He just said, did you believe in vain?

I know I didn't believe in vain, but I labored more abundantly than they all. Yet not I, but the grace of God, which was with me.

Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed. So added to the biblical proof and to the eyewitness proof is the personal proof.

What God has declared in the scriptures has come to pass in history and it transforms us.

It has been transforming people, individuals and families and societies and nations and languages and history for centuries upon centuries upon centuries.

Praise God. Jesus Christ said, I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. And he's doing a fantastic job.

Because he is risen and he's transforming life. I am a personal witness of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Not an eyewitness like Paul or Peter, but I too have been changed, transformed, altered, made alive in the life of Christ, the risen

Lord. I would not be preaching Christ if he was not raised, but he is. He has sent his spirit to indwell me and convey unto me all the graces of salvation.

Christ is risen and God has brought me into living union with Jesus so that I know God and pray and praise and bless and rejoice and strive and breathe the free air of liberty in Christ.

I say that testimony very generally because it's something that every Christian can say.

Every Christian is walking personal proof of the risen

Lord Jesus Christ. And why are these proofs?

Are we trying to convince atheists, materialists, or cultists with his proof?

Are proofs like weapons or rounds of ammunition and some kind of intellectual fracas?

Why has the father by the ministry of the spirit given us proofs of the resurrection of the son to glorify him, to glorify

Christ, to magnify his name, to call everyone to bow to his authority and find refuge in him?

Saint and sinner alike are compelled by these proofs to honor the risen King. And will the skeptics scoff?

Does a dog bark? Will the cultists contend? Do bees buzz?

Without ears to hear, without eyes to see, the spiritually dead are like the idols they serve, unable to respond to any mountain of proof.

However, when this proof is proclaimed as the word of the gospel, God is free and pleased to grant new life to the praise of the glory of his grace.

And we live in a world today where no atheist, no Hindu, no remote pagan, no regal priest, no

Muslim, and no Marxist is without overwhelming evidence and proof of God as creator.

They've just tried to get rid of that proof and suppress the truth and unrighteousness. Further, the scriptures declared by the saints bears forth incredible, wondrous proof of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Now, we know why sinners reject that proof. But what of you, saints? The proofs of the resurrection of Jesus Christ are not simply for sinners, not simply for the apologetic moment, not simply for debate and evangelization.

The proofs of the resurrection of Jesus Christ are for you. They are for you. You need this blessed encouragement in your life.

Treasure these proofs. God has proven to you the truth of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

He has proven it biblically. He has proven it by eyewitnesses. He has proven it personally through transformation.

We need to meditate on this. We need to treasure this because we ought to look where God told us to look to find the confidence and joy he wants us to have.

Look to Christ at the right hand where he is our risen Lord. Don't examine your emotions.

Your emotions are going to be different tomorrow. Don't reflect upon your own way of thinking, your thoughts, your learning.

Your information will be different tomorrow. Don't look for heaps of personal experiences and spiritual highs, mystical experiences.

Those things change from day to day. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Look at the Lord Jesus Christ. Be edified, be encouraged, be convinced that indeed he has risen from the dead.

Because of that, we can face tomorrow. Because he has risen from the dead, our sins are forgiven us.

Because he's risen from the dead, we are seated with Christ in the heavenly places. Because he's risen from the dead, he does plead his merit for our sake.

Because he's risen from the dead, the Holy Spirit is our comforter. Because he's risen from the dead, we are no longer under condemnation.

Because he has risen from the dead, he does deliver us. He does heal us. He does save us.

Do we see the point? We are often plagued with doubts, but we are often self -centered and self -exalting and self -magnifying and self -pitying and self -righteous and self -consumed.

Bury all that in the tomb of Christ and rejoice in his risen life.

Because he lives, I can face tomorrow. Because he lives, all fear is gone.

Because he lives, I know, I know. Let's pray.

Father, we thank you for the time you've given us in your Word. And I thank you that you did not leave us with sentiment or philosophy or a nice story, but you have carved into the granite of the history that you govern, the undeniable fact that Jesus is risen from the dead and shown us proofs to encourage us and to edify us.

We praise you for that. We thank you for that. You know our needs. You know that we are... You know our frame. You know that we are but dust.

You know that we need these encouragements. And so we praise you for that. We give you thanks for that, for all these things in Jesus' name.