Answering The Resurrection Question

The resurrection of Jesus Christ isn't just a historical event to celebrate, it is the bedrock truth that defines our present purpose and future hope.

In this Easter sermon on 1 Corinthians 15:1–28, Lead Pastor Neil McClendon tackles "the resurrection question" by examining both sides of the coin: what it means if Christ was not raised, and the life-changing implications of the fact that He was. Pastor Neil breaks down the personal consequences of unbelief versus the grounding, peace-giving reality of belief in a risen Savior who orchestrates history, defeats death, and promises eternal life.

In this episode, we cover:

• Answering the Resurrection Question: Exploring the logical implications of both doubting and trusting the resurrection.
• The Consequences of Unbelief: Why denying the resurrection leaves us trapped in sin, without ultimate hope, and pitied above all people.
• The Consequences of Belief: Understanding Christ as the "firstfruits" and the promise of both spiritual and physical resurrection.
• Universal Representation: How we are born in Adam's fallen nature and how we are made alive through Christ.
• Order and the End: How knowing God holds the future shapes our current priorities, invites personal change, and grants deep peace.

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This podcast is brought to you by Grand Parkway Baptist Church, helping people to know, enjoy, and glorify God. For more information about Grand Parkway, visit Grandparkway.org.

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Amen. Amen. We were made for more, right, Church? If you're visiting today, I just want you to know you're not going to hear a religious lecture today. No one's going to try to make you feel guilty. No one's going to beat you down. I'm going to open the Bible, read the Bible, and then tell you what it says and what it means for us today, because it's incredibly relevant and authoritative and applicable, okay? So let me pray. We're going to open the Bible. I'm going to read it and then I'm going to preach for a little bit. So questions come up on the screen for you to think about, uh, and then you'll be dismissed with a blessing. All right? Let's pray together. Lord, thank you that we were made for more. Thank you for the reminder on this resurrection day. Resurrection, not just your resurrection, but we were resurrected from being spiritually dead to being spiritually alive. We were resurrected spiritually, and we're going to be resurrected physically one day. And so we don't live in fear of death or anything else. And so, Lord, thank you that you're the first fruits from those among the dead. You went before us, okay? And you you you paved the way. So we don't live in fear. The sting has been removed from death. And so we get to live life, life, and life to its fullest. Holy Spirit, speak to us about that today from your word and by your spirit, we pray. In Christ's name, and everyone said, Amen. You can have a seat. You can have a seat. If you got a Bible, I invite you to take it, open up, open it up to 1 Corinthians chapter 15. If you don't have a Bible, don't sweat it. It'll come up on the screen behind me. I want to talk to you this morning about answering the resurrection question. Answering the resurrection question. And you say, What do you mean the resurrection question? Uh well, the resurrection question, it cuts both ways. Meaning we can't just gather on this Easter Sunday and yell louder than we did last year. He is risen. Now, do I believe he's risen? Absolutely. I wouldn't be standing here if I didn't believe that. I wouldn't be doing what I do if I didn't believe that. However, when I say it cuts both ways, what I mean is we got to be willing to ask the question, okay, what if it's not true? What if it's not true? Because some of you, every once in a while, you don't plan on it, but every once in a while you just be driving down the road and like a bird flying over your head, you'll have this thought, what if this whole thing, God and Jesus, just isn't true? I mean, might just believe in like a fairy tale or something? Now, we can ask that question because the Bible's our first one to ask that question. So we're gonna ask the question, hey, what does it mean for me if the resurrection never happened? And then we're gonna flip the coin and say, okay, what does it mean if the resurrection did happen? Okay, because oftentimes falsehood has to be falsified in order for the truth to be verified. Let me say that again. Falsehood has to be falsified, okay, in order for the truth to be verified. If that makes sense, say amen. All right, I'm gonna start reading 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verse 1. It says, Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preach to you, which you received, and which you stand, and by which you're being saved. If you hold fast to the word I preach to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day, in accordance with the scriptures. And then he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve, then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep, then he appeared to James, then he appeared to all the apostles, and last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them. But it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me, whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believe. Let me pause right here. We'll keep reading in a minute. What this is a historical confession and statement about the reality of the resurrection. Paul says, You have a Bible that's that's valid, that Christ died according to scripture, he was buried and raised according to scripture. Why does it say according to scripture? Because the Bible, they're called prophecies. It was promised beforehand. This is exactly what would happen. This is why I'm a Christian and not another world religion. It's because early on in my life I realized no other book, the sacred text, has included in it what's called prophecies, where God made a promise and years later it came true. All that happens for Christianity to be disproven is for one of those prophecies not to come true. But they all came true. This is why the Bible uses the phrase in accordance with scriptures. Now I want to pick up back reading in verse 12, because this is why I want to I want to preach from today is this section. I just want you to know this is why we believe in the resurrection. Here's the resurrection question, verse 12. Now, if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there's no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, and your faith is in vain. And we are even found to be misrepresenting God because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise, if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is futile and you're still in your sins. Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. But, in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those uh who have fallen asleep. For as by man came death, by man is come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive, but each in his own order. Christ the first fruits, then in his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom of God to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. Okay? Now, what do you mean the resurrection question? Answer on the resurrection question. You gotta be willing to have because we live in an age of the skeptic and the cynic and the unbeliever, and we celebrate that. So here's the good news on this Easter Sunday. I just have two points to my sermon, okay? Just two little points. That's all. Take about eight minutes, and then I got about 14 sub points under that. So we're gonna be here till two o'clock. I've ordered ham for everybody. Now, if you're here at two o'clock, you'll be here on your own. Amen. Uh and so the first thing I want you to see is that the consequences of unbelief are increasingly personal. The consequences of unbelief are increasingly personal. Like some of you may be sitting in this room thinking, dude, you better be glad I'm here. I'm just here because my mom said, Hey, we got to dress up, we're having a family portrait, and we're gonna go to church, and then we're gonna eat ham to celebrate our Jewish Messiah, and then we're gonna all take a nap, okay? Uh and if you're here, I'm glad you're here. Matter of fact, let me say this: put all my cards on the table. I'm not only glad you're here, but if you're not meaningfully connected to a church, I would love for you to consider this one because you're sitting around some of the best people you'll ever meet, okay? And I want to be your pastor. I want to know what does that mean? I don't want to just preach to you on Sunday. I want to walk through life with you. Myself and the rest of our pastors want to walk through life with you. So as you experience this morning, ask yourself, why would I not want to be a part of something like this? This is moderately helpful. All right, someone said in the first service, hey preacher, that wasn't half bad. Thank you. I want to go to my truck and beat myself. I'll be right back. What do I mean when I say the consequences of unbelief are increasingly personal? It's verses 12 to 18. Let me just tick them off. There's like five or six. Let me tick them off here. Number one, he says, if the resurrection hadn't happened, you don't believe that, then Christ is that not even Christ has been raised. Not even Christ has been raised. Now, it's this thing called in philosophy called implicational thinking. You can't just make a statement, you have to then live in light of all the implications of that statement. So when the Bible says, not even Christ has been raised, you're smart people. What that means is that he didn't really die. And if he didn't really die, then what are you going to do to get forgiveness for your sins? See, the second thing happens if you don't believe is that preaching is in vain. Uh a guy said to me one time, hey bro, it's not my fault you couldn't get a real job. More affirmation for the preacher. This is awesome. Uh yeah, preaching's in vain. You maybe think, dude, I think that every Sunday when you talk, okay? What are you doing? Preaching's in vain. Faith is in vain. That's what verse 14 says. Later he uses the word feudal. It's pointless, superstitious nonsense, okay? The fourth thing that happens if you do not believe in the resurrection is that these people that talk about it, they're misrepresenting God. Think about a late-night TV preacher that's just separating the non-discerning from their money, okay? They're misrepresenting God. And these guys in the Bible said, hey, if this isn't true, one of the implications is that we're misrepresenting God because we're saying he did something he didn't do. Here's the one you should put a star by, okay? You are still in your sin, verse 17 says. You are still in your sin. Translation, you got 99 problems, and that is one right there. That's a big one. You should put a star by that. Here's why. You're smart people, ask yourself this question. If the Bible says, and it does, you are still in your sin. Here's the existential question I would ask you today, okay? I told you on Good Friday service on Friday night. When you read the Bible, don't worry about the big words, okay? They're they're there and that's great. But worry about the little words, like you and still. You are still in your sin. Now, if you're still in your sin, then it begs two questions. Go back and ask, how when did you get there and how did you get there? If you're still in your sin, still, you say, I don't know what you're getting at. Uh uh it's simple. The Bible teaches that you and I were born in sin. We didn't do anything to get in sin. We were born in sin. You didn't have to do anything to be separated from God. We were all born that way. And I am consistently amazed at the number of people who feel as if they have to inform me that they don't believe. Like a long time ago, I saw a lawyer here in town and his wife for uh marriage counseling. I do a lot of counseling. And so, great guy, actually very enjoyable. About the third session, he said to me, he kind of clutched his pearls, like, now, now, Pastor, I respect you and you're actually helping us. Oh, I actually am. Thank you so much. Um, we're not just wasting each other's time while we sip coffee. Uh, but but he kind of clutched his pearls and he said, I need to tell you, I don't really believe what you believe. Matter of fact, I don't believe anything the Bible teaches. And so I clutched my pearls back and said, Hey, lady guy, guy, you were born that way, okay? Because he went on to say, Well, you know, as a lawyer, I had to go to law school, and I was like, shut up. You went to law school to be a lawyer? That's amazing. And he went on to tell me that basically he said, I grew up in a Baptist church. I said, I'm very sorry to hear that. Uh and so, uh, because here's the thing, I uh you're like, dude, you pastor a Baptist church. Uh, yes, yes, yes. But sometimes when you grow up around it, you get inoculated to it, not infected with it. Preach, pastor, come on now. Yes, but he he got inoculated. He he just he he couldn't get the virus, and he said, you know, when I got law school, I I just disavowed everything I've been raised to believe. I said, That's great, but I'm just telling you, you didn't have to go to law school to not believe. You were born unbelieving because you were born in sin. If you weren't, then why would the Bible say right here in verse 17, you are still in your sin. You did nothing to arrive at that. So basically, I said, to put it in law terms, you did nothing to arrive at this conclusion, okay? And his wife's kind of looking kind of like, I said, what? And she goes, My husband's very intelligent. He doesn't like when he loses an argument. I said, All right, ma'am, you got kids? And she said, Yeah, we got three, two boys and a daughter. How's your daughter? I think she said 15. I said, simple question. Did you ever have to teach your children to disobey you? Did you ever have to teach your 15-year-old daughter when you talk? Do you have to say to her, When mom talks, fold your arms and roll your eyes? She goes, Oh my gosh, I wanted to slap her the other day. She rolled her eyes and said, Whatever, mom. I said, Yes. Your kid does that because your kid has a falling sinful nature. No one teaches him. Ian, our student pastor, he and his wife Kendall just had their first baby, cute little girl named Zoe. And everyone's like, oh, oh, oh. And I just said the other day, I thought this was helpful. It wasn't. But I just said, they're first-time parents, they don't realize that they're not gonna have to teach that girl to disobey. And somebody was like, kneel. I'm just saying. Why? Because we're all born in sin, okay? This is why we need a savior. See, that the consequences of unbelief are increasingly personal. It doesn't stop there. The next thing you see there is that those who have fallen asleep have perished. That's verse 18. People you knew who profess you know who profess to be Christian and died, your parents, your grandparents, your great-grandparents, they all believed in a fairy tale fantasy. They weren't as smart as you, and they wasted their life believing something that has no real basis in reality. If you're gonna say you don't believe, then let's just let's go all the way and embrace all the ramifications of not believing. And one of that is everybody you know who professed to be a Christian and died thinks there's a heaven and they they've been deceived their whole life. And then it gets to this last consequence, which basically in verse 19, he said, if only in this life we have hope in Christ, uh we're we're we're to be most pitied. Uh basically, we have hope in this life only. There's in other words, there's no transcendence. Let's just pump the brakes and think for a minute. There's no transcendence. There's what do you mean? There's no life beyond this. You're stuck in the book of Ecclesiastes, everything's under the sun. There's no heaven for the righteous, there's no hell for the wicked. God is simply a big rabbit's foot that you rub in this life, so you can have your best life now. I would ask you a simple question: How do you reconcile the consequences of good and evil if there is no afterlife? What do you do with Romans 12, where God, a God of justness, who practices justice, who said, Hey, uh, leave room for the wrath of God. I will repay, says the Lord. If you're an unbeliever, you deny the resurrection. I would just ask you a simple question: where does that happen? Where does justice get served, okay? In an unbelieving worldview, the answer is nowhere. It's every man and every woman for themselves. Now, let me bring it down to where you and I live, okay? It's real simple. Uh, in a consequent, look at me, in a consequentious world, criminals flourish and law-abiding citizens live in fear. That's why some of you don't watch the news anymore. You can't absorb any more negativity. That's why on Friday night at a Good Friday service when I reference what's going on in New York and the subway, and I just said, listen, because somebody emailed me. My own wife said, Hey, I thought that was a bit of a kind of violent. Can you not say everything you think? And I said, I don't. That should concern you. Because basically what I said was, hey, there's just there's lawlessness in New York. No one's in charge in New York. It's like if you kill somebody on the subway, you get to just go out and just cut free. You go to prison, I mean, you go to jail, they take a picture, they release you. There is no consequence. And when a culture where there's no consequence, where there's lawlessness, look at me. You just invite more lawlessness. And I just said we should bring consequences. You kill somebody, you should get killed. You don't get to go to prison, eat three meals a day, get free health care, free don't care. No, it's called consequences. And I just said, you know, somebody might want to go down there and just say, hey, we're here to police the subways. And I got emails from guys, let's go. There's a man in our church, Jack Lee. I walked out, Jack was idle in his truck. ITM East, let's go, preacher. Lock cocked and ready to rock. Yeah. And here's why. Now, for all you pacifists, I'm not advocating vigilating justice. I am saying this so. When you push a human being, when you push a culture to absorb lawlessness, you're gonna invital response. And that's why people are just fed up. They're just fed up. Now, tamp it back down. All of this. Now, here's what I want you to notice. And I said, you know, this unbelief gets progressively worse. Notice how it starts off, okay? The progression starts with Christ. You're like, yeah, cosmic kill joy out there, yeah. Preaching, preachers can't get real jobs. Who cares? Faith, I don't believe that. And then he says, We start to get a little personal. You are still in your sin. It just got real. It gets increasingly personal. And then those friends and family who have died. See, what happens is that you end up in a hopeless existence. Nobody can help you, and nobody is helped by you. You're we call it nowadays negativity. You're negativity, or you're toxic. No, it's just you live in a really small world, and there's nothing beyond the world you live in if you don't believe in the resurrection. Second point of the sermon today is simply this the consequences of belief are increasingly helpful. They're increasingly helpful. I want to read, start in verse 20 again. But in fact, after the Bible, if you say you're here today and you're a cynic, you're like, I don't believe in that, I question the resurrection. The Bible's the first one to say, hey, if you don't believe this, and and and it can't make you, but this is this is the world you live in. But verse 20, if you do believe, this is the world you get to live in. But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. The first fruits of those who have fallen asleep, for as by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order. What a great word, order. We'll come back to that. Christ the first fruits, and then in his coming, those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end when he delivers the kingdom of God to the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. Now, what do you mean when I say the consequences of belief are increasingly helpful? Well, there's basically four of them. Number one, that there's life after death. There's life after death. That's why he says in verse 20, he said, of Jesus, he's the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. Now, have you ever noticed how the Bible talks about death as falling asleep? That's why my wife was a chaplain in a children's hospital, and she told parents, hey, when somebody dies, don't say, Oh, they just went to sleep, because then your kids will be afraid to go to sleep. But that where that comes from is the Bible talks about death as falling asleep. Why? Because for the Christian to be resurrected, we were resurrected spiritually. Like I was born not just a sinner, but I was born spiritually dead. Like before I became to I came to Christ, I could read the Bible. I could even go to church and hear a good sermon and go, I want to do that, but I didn't have the power in me to do it. So all I could do, listen to me, is just feel more guilty about what I couldn't do. But when I came to faith, the Bible says what happened is I was spiritually dead and I became spiritually alive. Now the Bible also says at the end, when I after I die when Christ comes back, I'm gonna be physically resurrected. Okay, spiritual resurrection, and then actual bodily physical resurrection. And so this happens every Sunday afternoon at my house. Some of y'all like, boy, you are crazy. Look at me. After this, I got one more sermon in me, and then I'm gonna go home, eat a light lunch, and I would say I'm gonna take a nap, but y'all think, oh, a little 30-minute power nap. Ah, I mean three hours of pounding it, okay? Don't have a crisis today. Don't need me today. If you need something, call Wade Burgess, our executive pastor. His phone number is 281-62. Just kidding. I'll give it to you on the download. Come up to me afterwards. And here's what happens. Here's what I mean. I practice the resurrection that is to come every Sunday afternoon because I, I mean, I'm eating, I just feel it coming. I look at my wife and she's like, oh, babe, go lay down. I'm like, oh, it's coming. I gotta get to my bed. I lay down, I put on my soft clothes. That's what I call pajamas. I put on my soft clothes. I get under the covers. I don't lay on top of the cover and pull a doily over me. No, I'm like a bear hibernating. And look at me. I wake up to this beautiful blonde-haired woman that read scripture earlier. That's my wife. I know you're like, how'd the fat bald guy get the hot chick? There is a God, atheist. I wake up to that woman saying to me, I'm not making it up. Hey, babe, we're gonna eat in five minutes. And so I go to sleep and I wake up to a feast. You didn't get that. I go to sleep and then I wake up to a feast. In the Bible, it's called the marriage supper of the Lamb. The Christian goes to sleep and he and he's resurrected. He's woke up. Why? Why do they call it falling asleep? Because resurrecting a believer is as easy as waking someone up from a nap. And the Bible says of Christ that he, when I say there's life after death, where you get there, it says he's the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. Now, the word first fruits is all through the Old Testament and into the New Testament because the law of the first fruits demands if there's firstfruits, there's gonna be more fruits. It's why people, it's called tithing, they give money to church. Now, listen very carefully. Don't walk out of here and go, I went to church one time on Easter, as is my custom, and the preacher talked about money because I want to punch you in the throat. That's a lie. I'm talking about the law of first fruits. First that's why people give. They say, hey, I'm gonna give a first fruit of my increase because God, I believe there's gonna be more. It's also the reason Christians go to church on Sunday. Sunday is the first day of the week, not Monday. Okay? It's the principle, it's the law of firstfruits. And you see, so when the Bible comes along and says of Jesus, he's the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. Everybody that heard that went, oh yeah, I understand first fruits. Absolutely. First, the law of first fruits mean, hey, if there's firstfruits, there's going to be more. This is why we say there's going to be life after death. Here's the second ramification: there's a universal problem and solution. A universal problem and solution. It's verse 21 and 22. Look at it again. He says, For as by a man came death. Now, by the way, how'd you like to be that guy? For as by a man, one single man came death. Sorry, I left the door open. And death got in. Yes, when I was a little kid, don't feel sorry for me, but I'm about to tell you, okay? When I was a little kid, I grew up on a farm in small east Texas town. We never called the repaired man. My dad could fix anything, okay? He would put down, something would break it, put down a toolbox, and me and my brother's like seven, eight, and like 12. And my dad would go, Everything to fix us in that box. I'll be back in an hour. Have it fixed. It's like, oh, okay, dad. Thanks for that affirmation. My dad was working on the car one time, front left tire. Never forget it. I said, Hey, where's Mitch? My brother. He's in the car. Don't get in there. I'm working on it. Walked around the car, crawled in, opened the door on the pastor's side, crawled in, looked in the backseat, saw my brother, what do you do? I'm reading. So I went to climb over the seat. My foot kicked the gear shift out of gear and the car rolled over my dad's chest. Yes, isn't that terrible? Broke six ribs and two vertebrates in my dad's back. Yes, now don't feel sorry for me. Y'all are gonna suck the paint off the wall. I felt bad because by the way, don't do this. In my small East Texas town of 4,000 people, there were a group of adults that referred to me as, hey, there's that boy that almost killed his daddy. Yes, I'm not making that. I remember being in a football game, getting a Frito pie. Back in the days when they'd turn it long ways and cut it with scissors and just scoop chili right in that bad boy, and you get a plastic spoon, it was like heaven. I remember I was in line for a Frito pie. They were 75 cents. And I remember somebody behind me goes, Hey, there's that boy that almost killed his daddy. Yeah, see, I felt that way too until I read in the Bible and I read these words in verse 21. Uh, for as a man came death, and I thought, well, I'm not as bad as that guy. I almost killed my dad. He killed everybody. Yes. Yes, so there's a universal problem and a solution. For as a man came death, okay? This refers to Adam. The truth is called representation. In other words, in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve represented all of humanity. And when they sinned, humanity fell into sin. And everyone born after them was born with a sin nature. This answers a question of earlier. Hey, hey, the Bible says you're still in your sin. How did you get there? When did you get there? You got there when you were born because of because of representation. Now, a lot of people say to me, Well, that's unfair. That's unfair. Why am I responsible for what Adam did? I just say this back to you. If Adam doesn't represent you in the garden, then Christ cannot represent you on the cross. Those two realities, look at me. You're smart people. Those two realities are inextricably linked together, okay? Which is why, if you keep reading in the in the next verse, verse 21, let's just keep the train of thought. For as by man came death, uh, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die. Hello, all die. Look at the next two words. So also. They're inextricably linked. Sometimes the Bible refers to Jesus as the second Adam because of this. So also in Christ shall all be made alive. Does it say that all are alive? No. It says they shall be made alive. So don't think universalism, think only hope. Now, because some people try to say, well, it says right there, so also if I'm in Adam, so also, you know, I'm in Christ. No, no. You were born in Adam, which is why the Bible teaches that you have to be born again to be in Christ. Does that make sense? Say amen. You were born with a sinful fallen nature. That's why the Bible says you've got to be born again to be in Christ. There's two categories of people in the world, okay? In sin, in Christ. In sin, in Christ. That's the categories. Here's the third thing about belief. Now, some of you, if you're over the age of 50, you're gonna enjoy this more than the person in the room that's 15 right now. So I'm just giving you a heads up. If you're 15, you can just roll your eyes, loser. Look at verse 23. After it gets kind of theological in verses 21 and 22, he says in verse 23, but each in his own order, Christ the first fruits, then it is coming, those who belong to Christ. Let me say it again. But each in his own order. That word order is a Greek word, great Greek word tagma, and it means that which has been arranged. That which has been arranged, each in his own order, that which has been arranged. Look at me. If something's been arranged in order, who arranged it? Who set it up? A guy asked me a long time ago. He goes, dude, how are you so hopefully optimistic and joyful? I mean, I watch you when you don't know I'm watching you. I said, Well, that's kind of creepy, but anyway. And he said, You're always hopeful and joyful. And I said, Yeah, I believe now. If you just turn on the TV and watch the news every day, you'll just think the world's going to hell in a handbasket. And by the way, that's because man has a free will and he uses it for evil. Don't look at the world and blame God. Look at the world. See, because I would say to you, you cannot explain the state of the world without a robust theology of sin. But even in the midst of that, while God is weaning us off of ourselves, there is an order. Sometimes the Bible raises its voice and sometimes it just kind of whispers. And right here it whispers. Hey, there is an order, each in its own order. Translation, that which has been arranged. Again, I would ask the question, who's arranging it all? And if that's true, wouldn't you want to know him? See, that's the difference, that's the difference. This is not religion, it's a relationship. Okay? Here's the last thing I would say with the Bible says, verse 24. You still with me say amen. You're not far from Ham, people. Stay awake, okay? Look at verse 24. Don't miss this with the Bible. This is why you should find a church, be it here or otherwise, that teaches you the Bible and treats you like adults. Because this is what the Bible says. Look at verse 24. Order was good. This is even better. He says in verse 24, then comes the end when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. Again, verse 24, this is the first part. Then comes the end. There's order and there's an end. Hmm. See, that's the good news on this Easter Sunday. That it's good news that there's order and there's an end. This is all kind of moving towards, but that's not the good news. The good news of Christianity is that you can have a relationship with the God who's in charge of it all. Now, preachers use this talk about the end, like when the Israel-Palestine thing happened blew up back on October the 7th, when that happened, my phone started blowing up. I was talking to a guy in premarital council. He goes, Hey, is the world ending? Oh, absolutely. Well, bro, I'm getting married. That ain't good news. It's not that good, okay? And he's like, What'd you say? I said, It's a joke, okay? I highly recommend marriage. He goes, I mean, seriously, is the world ending? Absolutely, the world's ending. All through the Bible, the Bible even talks about it. Then the end's gonna come. Jesus is talking in Matthew chapter 24 about what's gonna shake down. He gets to verse 14, and he drops this knowledge on him. He says, and this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations. And then what? And then the end will come. See, this God is so He there's such an order that this sovereign God is in charge of the affairs uh uh uh of the world that he knows when the end is. This cat's in my office and he says, Hey man, I'm serious. I mean I mean, these guys at work talk about this, it kind of freaks me out. I said, Oh, yeah, it should. Um actually, it shouldn't if you have faith in Christ. But if you got faith in yourself, you're gonna be shook, bro. Because I try to be comforting, that's why. And he's like, So seriously, and he says, So when's that gonna happen? I said, look at me, nobody knows. And if anybody tells you they know, they're lying. And then, like most humans, he goes, Well, how do you know that? I said, That's a great question, you little pessimist. Uh, I know that because the Bible says no man knows the day or the hour. So you just live in the state of readiness, not fear. So there's an end, absolutely. I read an article a while back by a guy named Jonathan Cruz, and he he says that knowing that the end is coming does three things for us. Let me close this morning by giving these to you. Knowing that the end is coming. Do you know that the end is coming? Now that's why I said if you're over 50, you're like, you I remember when I was 15, old people say, I wish Jesus would come today. I'm like, I don't. Now, by the way, if you're 15, don't feel bad about that. It's okay for you to think that way. I would say it's natural. You could say, hey, I'm 15. I want to graduate high school, I want to go to college, I want to get married, I want to have a minivan and a mortgage. I want to wheel my kids around in my swagger wagon. Here comes your mom, watch these dual sliding doors. Yeah, baby. And then I'm gonna indebt my husband because as soon as the last kid leaves, I need an SUV. Mama needs a ta hole for driving this minivan all these years. Yes, absolutely. Now, what do you mean? Know that there's an incoming does three things. Let me give them to you. Number one, it informs our priorities. It informs our priorities. What do you mean? Second Peter chapter 3, verse 11 says this since everything will be destroyed in this way. Horrible thought. What kind of people ought you to be? Great question. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, since everything, it's all gonna go down like this. The end's gonna happen just like the Bible says. What kind of people ought you to be? He goes on to say, you ought to live holy and godly lives. See, knowing that there's an end coming, it informs our priorities. Secondly, it invites personal change. It invites personal change. I had a text dialogue back with a friend of mine who's in his 20s uh just this week about this verse, 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 10. He says we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ so that each one may receive what is due for what he's done in the body, whether good or evil. Hear that again. We must all appear, the end, before the judgment seat of Christ. And my friend was like, so we're gonna be judged. Basically, does the life you live on earth on earth is it gonna be recognized and rewarded in heaven? That's not our motivation, it is our understanding. Otherwise, you look around. That's why the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 15, towards the end, don't grow weary in well-doing. Some of you look around, you think, I'm doing good, but the world's just screwed up. I'm trying to do the right thing. Why do the right thing? Because doing the right thing is its own reward. Keep doing the right thing, even when no one's looking, even when they're not giving you plaques or trophies or anything. Just keep doing the right thing. Why? Because God prepared you, Christian, in advance, beforehand, to do good deeds. So know that there's an incoming informs our priorities, it invites personal change, and then lastly, it initiates the question of peace. Well, what do you mean it initiates? You preachers talk funny. It makes you ask this question. Again, you're smart people, I'm done with this, okay? You look around, the world's so chaotic, the world's so crazy, you're 23, you thought you'd be married by now, and the vice president of a Fortune 500 company, but instead you're single and your friends are not very helpful, and you're like, this is not very comforting in such a world. Where do you find peace? I would say to you, peace is available in a relationship with God through his son Jesus. It's not religion, it's a relationship. Okay? And it's available to everyone in this room. Nobody here sins so much that God's like, that's it, you're on your own. Good luck. By the way, there's an end coming. I'm gonna get you in the end. Look at me. God is not a God that's out to get you. God is in every day you're breathing, God is inviting you into a relationship. God is saying, Ali Ali and Free, come out, come out wherever you are. He invites you into a relationship. Why? Because the Bible says this of God, and I'm done. That he blesses his people with peace. One of the greatest, greatest consequences of me becoming a Christian way back in July of 1982 was not that I got my sins forgiven. I did, that's true. Was not that I know I'm going to heaven. That's true. The greatest consequence and benefit of my coming to faith is simply this that I live every day with this deep sense of peace. When things happen I don't understand. I mean, as a pastor, you know how many tragedies I've dealt with? It's just like somebody came up to me at a funeral I did not long ago and said, Hey man, how do you not just get mad at God? God's not responsible for the state of the world. The world's like it is because sin is real. But even in the beginning, like in the beginning in Genesis, it said the earth was void and formless. And then here's hope. But the spirit of God was hovering over the waters. God was just kind of saying, I'm about to set it off up in here. Y'all get ready. To quote that great theologian Terrell Owens, get your popcorn. And I said, So when stuff happens, and I'm just like, waah, I don't shake my fist at God. I'm like, the Spirit of God is still hovering over the water. The Spirit of God is living inside of me. The Spirit of God is living inside every Christian. And when you obey, you bring that to bear on the culture around you. But in the meantime, you can and should have a measure of peace. And if you don't have that today, ask yourself why not, okay? Let's pray together. If you're a guest today, just relax. We like to teach the Bible and give you some soul space to think about it. Some questions come up on the screen. That's for your consideration. You can even slip out a phone and take a little picture and give your kids a pop quiz over lunch. They'll really enjoy that. But no, we just like to give you some space to say, hey, think about what you heard today. What do you do with it? God, we're just going to be still and listen now. We want to be intentional, but we're not going to hurry. So, Lord, brood over us. Press in on us what we need to remember, let fall to the ground the things we need to forget. We're listening, God, so keep speaking, we pray. Lord, we've gathered on this Easter Sunday to thank you for what you've done. Even the things you've done that we don't yet understand, the things that you are doing even now, the things you're going to do, we thank you in advance for it. Because you're a good God. Chaos rules in some parts of our country, but that doesn't mean God's not real and God's not good. God is good and God is sovereign. Those are like the bumpers and the gutters at the bowling alley that keep us from putting it in the ditch and denying what we know to be true. So I pray for people in this room that need to come back to their faith. They've wandered, they've drifted. Maybe today's the first time they were in the church since the last funeral or wedding they went to. But Lord, there's no condemnation for those who are in Christ. It's just an open invitation. Hey, come back. God's not giving up on you, so you can't give up on Him. God, I pray for the unbeliever today. It's not an intellectual exercise. We do use our intellect, but it's a relationship. It's a friendship. That's why you said to your disciples, I don't call you enemies, but I call you friends now. Remind us that you're the God that befriends us. Let that lead us to faith in this God. We pray in Christ's name. What everyone said, Amen. Amen. If you're a guest today, let me say thanks again for being here. And I meant what I said in the beginning. If you're not meaningfully connected, which means if you are meaningfully connected, you stay at your church, help that thing flourish. But if you're not, you're welcome to come be a part of what God is doing here, okay? So if you're a guest today, if you would just text welcome to that number on the screen, we're not gonna show up at your house. We'll just shoot you a text back. And here's why we do this. Look at me. We want to help you take the next step in your spiritual journey. It's that simple. If you have any questions about anything you saw or heard, some of our pastors be available down front. We'd love to answer the questions for you, okay? Pray with you if you've got something going on, or meet you. And you may say, hey, dude, I got 14 kids hanging off of me, and we got to get to my grandma's house. That's great. Bust out of here in just a minute and go, we'll meet you next time. Is that a deal? Say amen. Now, in the meantime, we have things going on in our church we like to involve you in that help equip you. So we make you aware of those by way of our video announcements. So check out this for 90 seconds.

SPEAKER_00 38:10

Here's a look at what's happening at Grand Parkway Baptist Church. A D Group is when three to four men commit to meeting weekly for a focused and intentional time of accountability and discussion around God's Word with the purpose of growing in Christ's likeness. If you're ready to join or just want to learn more, take the next step and join us for the D Group Training Informational Meeting on April 3rd at 6 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall. If you're ready to make Grand Parkway Baptist Church your new home, then starting point is for you. Come join us on April 14th in the Fellowship Hall to learn why church membership matters and to get connected to your church. Register at grandparkway.org. Secret Church is a one-night event live streamed around the world. We'll meet for six hours of intense study of God's Word with David Platt and devote ourselves to praying together for the persecuted church. The cost is $10 and dinner is included. Register at grandparkway.org. If you have any questions or would like someone to pray for you, please see one of our pastors at the front of the stage at the conclusion of our service.

SPEAKER_01 39:24

Someone asked me uh this morning about starting point. It's part of our membership process. If you come, do you have to join? No. You're welcome to, but it's where you get information about our church, our core values, what we believe. And so we don't believe in pressure or manipulation or guilt in any environment. Up here or when you come to a class, we're not down with that. Uh we think God speaks a language you understand, and when you understand it, your life will reflect it. Does that make sense? Okay. All right. We'd like to conclude our service with a spoken blessing. So stand to your feet if you would. And if you're comfortable, hold your hands out. And if you're not, hold them out anyway. Your God is the God of resurrection. He has the power to change you, to make you somebody you've never been. Not because of determination, but because of relationship. He's going to resurrect you spiritually, and then one day he's going to resurrect you physically. So do not fear death. It has no power over you. You are free to frolic and flourish in the goodness of God. Every day you live on this earth. And when coming to die, you don't have to be afraid of that either. It's just taking a nap and you get up to a feast. Depart now and enjoy these realities. In the name of the Father and the Son, the Holy Spirit. Amen. Bless you.