SPEAKER_00: This podcast is a ministry of Grand Parkway Baptist Church, helping people know, enjoy, and glorify God.
SPEAKER_00: For more information about Grand Parkway, visit Grandparkway.org.
SPEAKER_01: Let's pray together.
SPEAKER_01: Lord, we uh we stand here in the power that is greater than ourselves because despite our best capacity, despite our beauty and our brains and our bucks, nothing wrong with any of that, God.
SPEAKER_01: But we are going to face things in life that we cannot overcome in and of ourselves.
SPEAKER_01: And so we need a power greater than ourselves.
SPEAKER_01: That's the power of God and the reality of the gospel.
SPEAKER_01: We'll demonstrate both of those in our midst.
SPEAKER_01: Speak to our head and to our heart.
SPEAKER_01: Arrest our attention and our affection today.
SPEAKER_01: We pray in Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: You can have a seat.
SPEAKER_01: If you got a Bible, I invite you to take it and open it up to 1 Corinthians chapter 15.
SPEAKER_01: If you don't have a Bible, there's one on your row.
SPEAKER_01: I'm on page 961.
SPEAKER_01: And if you don't have a Bible of your own, you can take that with you as our gift today.
SPEAKER_01: We'll get some more.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: I want to talk to you this morning about what the resurrection reveals.
SPEAKER_01: What the resurrection reveals.
SPEAKER_01: And while you're finding 1 Corinthians, let me tell you what I mean by what reveals, because things are you act differently when the lights are on than you do when the lights are off.
SPEAKER_01: Can you agree with that?
SPEAKER_01: Let me say that again.
SPEAKER_01: You act differently when the lights are on versus when the lights are off.
SPEAKER_01: Can you agree with that?
SPEAKER_01: Now, some of you, because you're sinners, your mind went somewhere right then that did not need to go.
SPEAKER_01: Did you feel that awkwardness?
SPEAKER_01: Some of you are like, dude, you just jumped right out there.
SPEAKER_01: It's Easter.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, we got flowers and everything.
SPEAKER_01: That's not where my mind is going at all, sinners, so repent.
SPEAKER_01: Here's what I mean.
SPEAKER_01: Before I became the pastor here at this church, I used to travel around the country and preach all over.
SPEAKER_01: And a lot of times I would stay in people's homes.
SPEAKER_01: People would say, hey, you know, hey, we can't afford a hotel.
SPEAKER_01: Our church is not very big.
SPEAKER_01: Would you mind staying at home?
SPEAKER_01: And sometimes I would go back to a place and a family would say, Hey, our kids, they really enjoyed you.
SPEAKER_01: Is there any way you would think you would even consider staying in our house?
SPEAKER_01: And I'd be like, sure, I'd love to.
SPEAKER_01: And so I played hockey in the street with a neighborhood full of kids.
SPEAKER_01: I've done all kinds of crazy stuff.
SPEAKER_01: This one family, they said, uh, well, Pastor, we would love the visiting preacher to stay in our home.
SPEAKER_01: Beautiful home.
SPEAKER_01: About 7,200 square feet of beautiful home.
SPEAKER_01: It was like the mall.
SPEAKER_01: I was like, shut up.
SPEAKER_01: They had three kids, beautiful family, kind of formal though.
SPEAKER_01: And I knew something was up.
SPEAKER_01: We came to dinner, and the father was wearing a navy blazer.
SPEAKER_01: And I was like, uh-oh.
SPEAKER_01: I might want to put on long pants.
SPEAKER_01: So I went back to my room and chains.
SPEAKER_01: But they told me where everything was.
SPEAKER_01: They said, here's our guest quarters down here.
SPEAKER_01: Now, Neil, should you need anything?
SPEAKER_01: Our bedroom right here on the right is the first door on the right.
SPEAKER_01: The second door on the right is the bathroom.
SPEAKER_01: And I said, okay, got it.
SPEAKER_01: And so we stayed up, watched TV, went to bed.
SPEAKER_01: At about 2:30 in the morning, I woke up because I had to go to the bathroom.
SPEAKER_01: I don't know if you've ever woken up.
SPEAKER_01: You wake up and you're kind of like, okay, I'm in a house, but it's not my house.
SPEAKER_01: I don't know where everything is.
SPEAKER_01: And this is what I mean when I say you walk and talk and act differently when the lights are off.
SPEAKER_01: And so I get out of bed, there's no night light in the hall or anything, and I'm just feeling my way along, touching the walls and everything, and I'm kind of like, and at 2.31 in the morning, I could not remember if the bedroom was first or the bathroom was first.
SPEAKER_01: And so I'm feeling my way along, and I there's an opening.
SPEAKER_01: And so I just hung around and I grabbed the doorknob and I and I went to open it and it was locked.
SPEAKER_01: And I thought, who's in the bathroom at 2.30?
SPEAKER_01: And I just kind of stood there and I was like disoriented.
SPEAKER_01: And I was like, and so I reached to grab it again.
SPEAKER_01: I thought maybe I just didn't twist it because sometimes you just got to bear down.
SPEAKER_01: When it doesn't work the first time, men use more force.
SPEAKER_01: Amen?
SPEAKER_01: So I just grabbed it like a man, I was like, and about that time the door opened from the other side, the light came on, and the woman was standing there on the nightcounter.
SPEAKER_01: She goes, What are you doing?
SPEAKER_01: And I was like, I don't know why you stoop over in the dark.
SPEAKER_01: Like there's less, it's nice far to fall if I trip.
SPEAKER_01: And so I was like, I'm so sorry.
SPEAKER_01: I'm looking for the bathroom.
SPEAKER_01: Clearly, it's the next door.
SPEAKER_01: And she goes, Yes, it's the next door on the right.
SPEAKER_01: And then closed the door.
SPEAKER_01: I laid in bed for the next hour, just hating myself.
SPEAKER_01: They're gonna call the church.
SPEAKER_01: Can you come get this pervert and try to break into our room?
SPEAKER_01: Awkward to the nth degree, okay?
SPEAKER_01: Now, why don't I tell you that?
SPEAKER_01: Because the resurrection is like flipping the light switch on.
SPEAKER_01: In all history of humanity, things are obvious that weren't clean, but that weren't clear, weren't seen before, weren't agreed upon.
SPEAKER_01: Because the Bible leaves us no room to kind of go, yeah, I don't know about that.
SPEAKER_01: I want to just pick up what we read earlier, 1 Corinthians chapter 15.
SPEAKER_01: I just want to clip five verses, verses 20 to 24.
SPEAKER_01: Let me read them this morning.
SPEAKER_01: Paul says, But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead.
SPEAKER_01: The first fruits are those who have fallen asleep.
SPEAKER_01: For as by a man came death, by a man has also come the resurrection of the dead.
SPEAKER_01: For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
SPEAKER_01: But each in his own order.
SPEAKER_01: Christ the first fruits, and then in his coming, those who belong to Christ.
SPEAKER_01: Then comes the end when he delivers the kingdom to the kingdom to God the Father, after destroying every rule and every authority and every power.
SPEAKER_01: Let me just stop right there.
SPEAKER_01: Because earlier we read a long section in 1 Corinthians 15, probably one of the greatest chapters in the Bible, just about who Jesus was, that he really died, that he really rose from the dead.
SPEAKER_01: But there were skeptics in this city.
SPEAKER_01: And Paul earlier, he's kind of writing to them and kind of saying, Hey, some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead.
SPEAKER_01: Let me play out the implications of believing that.
SPEAKER_01: Because here's the reality.
SPEAKER_01: Every one of you in this room believes something about God, Jesus, Christianity, death, heaven, hell, sin, perfection.
SPEAKER_01: You all have opinions about all of those things.
SPEAKER_01: You have experiences with some of those things, and you brought those with you this morning.
SPEAKER_01: And what I want to do is just kind of point to the resurrection and say, hey, let's switch the light on and let the resurrection reveal some things to us.
SPEAKER_01: And here's the first thing it reveals to us it reveals that the resurrection is a fact.
SPEAKER_01: You're like, well, that's rocket science.
SPEAKER_01: You went to school for that.
SPEAKER_01: The resurrection reveals that the resurrection is a fact.
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 20, he starts with, but in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead.
SPEAKER_01: Why does he say that?
SPEAKER_01: He says that because in verses 12 to 19, he says, okay, I'll play your game.
SPEAKER_01: If you people say there is no resurrection, let me just share with you the implications of not believing in the resurrection.
SPEAKER_01: And Paul lists seven or eight implications because the Bible takes everything to the nth degree and says, now, do you still want to believe that?
SPEAKER_01: The Bible doesn't yell and scream and raise its voice.
SPEAKER_01: The Bible just says, hey, let's intellectually tease this out a little bit.
SPEAKER_01: And then when we see how this is going to apply, ask yourself, do I still want to be a part of that?
SPEAKER_01: It's kind of like Bitcoin.
SPEAKER_01: Sounded great in the beginning.
SPEAKER_01: Anybody?
SPEAKER_01: I lost you there.
SPEAKER_01: Some of you are kind of like, Bitcoin, what is that?
SPEAKER_01: Cryptocurrency?
SPEAKER_01: I've got to stop reading online articles.
SPEAKER_01: Anyway, back to the Bible.
SPEAKER_01: The resurrection is in fact, because he says, hey, you people say there is no resurrection, and then he spools out seven or eight things.
SPEAKER_01: Let me just point to four of them, okay?
SPEAKER_01: Paul says this, he says, if there is no resurrection, then preaching has no purpose.
SPEAKER_01: And some of you are like, check, I relate to that this morning.
SPEAKER_01: Secondly, Paul says that faith is pointless, it's just pointless, it's just sentimental nonsense.
SPEAKER_01: Thirdly, he says, if there's no resurrection, there's no solution for sin.
SPEAKER_01: Fourthly, he says there's no life after death.
SPEAKER_01: There's no comfort when you lose someone.
SPEAKER_01: By the way, the man that called me yesterday morning at 8 09, he had just gotten word that his wife died.
SPEAKER_01: And I sat in my office with him yesterday morning, and friend, and I just said, Let me tell you something.
SPEAKER_01: The gospel is as true right now as it's ever been.
SPEAKER_01: Just because you've experienced tragedy doesn't mean all of a sudden God's not on the throne.
SPEAKER_01: He looked at me and he goes, I know that, Pastor.
SPEAKER_01: Thank you for saying that.
SPEAKER_01: I said, You're gonna see your wife again.
SPEAKER_01: We're gonna grieve and we're gonna mourn, but we're not gonna mourn as those without hope because of the resurrection.
SPEAKER_01: We know that there's gonna be another time and another place.
SPEAKER_01: And he said, Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01: Now, when Paul lists out these things, and I just I just picked four of them, I think there's seven or eight.
SPEAKER_01: Now, I want you to take those in reverse order and think back through them.
SPEAKER_01: Uh first of all, there is life after death, and so how we live matters.
SPEAKER_01: Let me say that again.
SPEAKER_01: There is life after death.
SPEAKER_01: You say, Well, how do you know?
SPEAKER_01: Jesus rose from the dead.
SPEAKER_01: We'll get to it in a minute, but the Bible refers to him as the first fruits of those from among the dead.
SPEAKER_01: And the law of first fruits means there's going to be more fruits.
SPEAKER_01: There's going to be other people that are resurrected.
SPEAKER_01: Matter of fact, I'll tell you in about six minutes that everybody in this room and everybody in this world is going to experience resurrection.
SPEAKER_01: But we'll get to that in a minute.
SPEAKER_01: I say there's life after death, so how we live matters.
SPEAKER_01: Okay?
SPEAKER_01: Secondly, uh, because we've all sinned, we need a solution.
SPEAKER_01: Because we've all sinned, we need a solution.
SPEAKER_01: You say, I don't know what you mean.
SPEAKER_01: If you ever get in a spiritual conversation with somebody and you get bogged down because you don't know, they ask a question and you don't know what to say or whatever.
SPEAKER_01: Here's two questions that I ask people, not to win an argument, but to invite them to think about something that we we by nature don't think about.
SPEAKER_01: Here's the first question: what is your plan for finding forgiveness?
SPEAKER_01: What is your plan for finding forgiveness?
SPEAKER_01: And people are always like, oh, well, uh you uh uh because that question implies that we've sinned.
SPEAKER_01: The Bible says we've all sinned.
SPEAKER_01: I've sinned, you've sinned, we've all sinned, but not only that, we've fallen short of the glory of God.
SPEAKER_01: Because we were created by God to be in a relationship with God that brings God glory, that reveals to the world how smart God is, how right God is, and how much God can be trusted.
SPEAKER_01: But we we've sinned and we've fallen short of that.
SPEAKER_01: So you gotta ask yourself, what's my plan for finding forgiveness?
SPEAKER_01: And second question is this uh how do you do you believe that you have the power to stop sinning?
SPEAKER_01: Do you believe you have the power to stop sinning?
SPEAKER_01: Now, if I was to ask everybody in this room, most of us would say, Well, I believe that power is there.
SPEAKER_01: Then would it stand a reason that we would all stop?
SPEAKER_01: Now, a long time ago, before I became a preacher, I worked in an adolescent psychiatric hospital, one of the best jobs I ever had.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, I loved it.
SPEAKER_01: You say you loved, yes, because they were honest.
SPEAKER_01: They were broken, roached out, addicted, alcoholic teenagers from 13 to 19 years old, and they had no face to save.
SPEAKER_01: They weren't like church people.
SPEAKER_01: They didn't walk in and kind of go, hey, brother, how are you?
SPEAKER_01: They would walk in and go, Man, you didn't bring any acid with you, did you?
SPEAKER_01: And I was like, this is awesome.
SPEAKER_01: Thank you for being so screwed up.
SPEAKER_01: One of the things I did was I assisted in what's called a 12-step program.
SPEAKER_01: 12-step program is for people that are addicted to drugs or alcohol, and it's it's great.
SPEAKER_01: It's step the first step is this.
SPEAKER_01: I remember I said in the first uh meeting there was a director, I was his assistant in this time, and they were working the first step.
SPEAKER_01: The first step in the 12-step program, now, by the way, some of you right now in your mind, you're telling yourself, because you know it.
SPEAKER_01: Absolutely, it says this.
SPEAKER_01: I came to the point in my life where I was powerless over drugs and alcohol, and I need a power greater than myself to help me regain control.
SPEAKER_01: And they were working that first step, and they had to come up with what their higher power was.
SPEAKER_01: That's where we were in the process.
SPEAKER_01: And I thought, this is gonna be awesome.
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna go tell my girlfriend Marcy, I'm 25 years old.
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna tell my girlfriend Marcy, this is incredible.
SPEAKER_01: You wouldn't believe what happened.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, these people all came to faith because I mean, I need a power greater than myself.
SPEAKER_01: That's God, right?
SPEAKER_01: That sounds great in theory, but these people get to select who their higher power is.
SPEAKER_01: Teenagers.
SPEAKER_01: This guy right here, the first guy that went, said, My higher power is Michael Jackson.
SPEAKER_01: And I thought, oh, he's being funny.
SPEAKER_01: And he was like, then he got up and did the hee hee and sat back down.
SPEAKER_01: I was like, that just happened right there.
SPEAKER_01: I am so glad I'm here.
SPEAKER_01: When a couple people around, the guy over there said, Well, my higher power is myself.
SPEAKER_01: And the director said, Well, if you'll see it, very gracious.
SPEAKER_01: I am freaking out.
SPEAKER_01: He's like, very gracious and pastoral.
SPEAKER_01: He said, Well, if you'll notice, it says that you need a power greater than yourself.
SPEAKER_01: He said, Well, I don't mean me as you see me here in this city.
SPEAKER_01: I mean when I'm clean and sober, I am the galactic commander of the universe.
SPEAKER_01: Shut up.
SPEAKER_01: Of course you are.
SPEAKER_01: I'm so glad I came to this.
SPEAKER_01: About three more people in there.
SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
SPEAKER_01: I don't believe there's anything.
SPEAKER_01: So just a cosmic force or whatever.
SPEAKER_01: Finally, one guy said, My higher power is my dead grandmother.
SPEAKER_01: And I was like, uh, can I ask you a question?
SPEAKER_01: And I don't know the rules.
SPEAKER_01: And I was like, sure.
SPEAKER_01: And I said, How do you get in touch with your higher power?
SPEAKER_01: He said, I pray to her every night.
SPEAKER_01: And I said, Does she answer?
SPEAKER_01: And he said, Well, not yet, but I I know she hears me.
SPEAKER_01: And I said, How how empowered do you feel by having a higher power that can't seem to answer back?
SPEAKER_01: And he said, Man, don't talk about my grandmother that way.
SPEAKER_01: I said, I'm not talking about your grandmother, I'm talking about you.
SPEAKER_01: I just, and I'm not making light of it.
SPEAKER_01: I just think, but here's here's what I'm trying to get at.
SPEAKER_01: I'm not making light of any of these people.
SPEAKER_01: Because the longer I worked there, they came to love me.
SPEAKER_01: We we went from, don't bring that Bible out to, hey man, are you gonna read the Bible tonight and make it make it come?
SPEAKER_01: One guy said to me, he was just a raging addict.
SPEAKER_01: He said, Man, when you read the Bible, it's like pop rocks in my brain.
SPEAKER_01: Hey, uh, I hugged him.
SPEAKER_01: I said, Man, you couldn't give me a bigger compliment.
SPEAKER_01: Deeply addicted to heroin.
SPEAKER_01: Heard the story of John in John chapter 3 of a guy named Nicodemus who came to Jesus at night, and I said to them, Some of you in the dark night of your life, you're you're in rehab for the second, third, fifth time, but God hadn't given up on you.
SPEAKER_01: Regardless of how dark it is, there's a God in this world, and he describes himself as light.
SPEAKER_01: And that God's like, freaking A! And I was like, What?
SPEAKER_01: And he goes, Well, we can't use profanity, that's as close as I can come.
SPEAKER_01: But if I could use profanity, I would.
SPEAKER_01: And I was like, you need to cleanse.
SPEAKER_01: Why do I make a big deal out of this?
SPEAKER_01: Here's why.
SPEAKER_01: Because when you get down to this thing, because we've all sinned, you need a solution.
SPEAKER_01: Mankind cannot come up with a solution to the problem of sin.
SPEAKER_01: Just look around, watch the news tomorrow night.
SPEAKER_01: You'll see that every story is just one this and this happened and that happened and that happened.
SPEAKER_01: It's kind of like, oh.
SPEAKER_01: Think back through these things.
SPEAKER_01: To be a Christian, thirdly, a person of faith, to be a Christian, not just say you believe in a higher power, but to be a Christian that lives an integrated life matters supremely.
SPEAKER_01: So much so Jesus said, You're the salt of the earth and you're the light of the world.
SPEAKER_01: That doesn't mean you're the only person that's right.
SPEAKER_01: It means that the way you live, a truth-based life, has a preserving effect on the culture.
SPEAKER_01: Lastly, our faith is enhanced, matured, and strengthened through the hearing of the truth of the Bible preached in a way that we can understand.
SPEAKER_01: Get our head around.
SPEAKER_01: That's why the Bible says it like this: that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
SPEAKER_01: You should find a church that opens the Bible, doesn't read two sentences, and then give you a TED talk or a little self-help motivational speech, but opens the Bible, reads the Bible, and tells you what the Bible says and says, now let's look let's bring this to bear on our life.
SPEAKER_01: What you will see that happens is that your faith gets bigger, your ideas get thicker, and your life gets more connected to your creator.
SPEAKER_01: That's what the Bible says we're creating for.
SPEAKER_01: So when I say the resurrection is a fact, these are just some of the reasons that I point to.
SPEAKER_01: The second thing that the resurrection reveals is simply this there is life after death.
SPEAKER_01: There is life after death.
SPEAKER_01: Look at verse 20.
SPEAKER_01: The second half of verse 20, he says, but in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead.
SPEAKER_01: And then he says this about him.
SPEAKER_01: This is a descriptive statement.
SPEAKER_01: The first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.
SPEAKER_01: We don't use the phrase firstfruits.
SPEAKER_01: We do it at my house because my wife and I raise our kids to understand it.
SPEAKER_01: The law of firstfruits basically means this: that the first part of everything you get belongs to God, and so they give it to God.
SPEAKER_01: And you give that first fruits to God because you believe there's going to be more fruits.
SPEAKER_01: It's the way you demonstrate that your faith is in God and not in yourself or in your bank account or anything else.
SPEAKER_01: And so for these agrarian farming people, they would, their first crop that got ripe, they would take it and bring it to the temple and they'd present it to the priests.
SPEAKER_01: And then they would go back because they would say, Hey, we're going to give away the first fruits because we trust God for more fruits that are going to come.
SPEAKER_01: So Paul writes to these people, think just for a minute.
SPEAKER_01: Paul writes to them, he says, I want them to understand that the resurrection is not just something that happened to Jesus because he was the Son of God.
SPEAKER_01: Matter of fact, I want them to understand that they're going to be resurrected too.
SPEAKER_01: And so he says, Christ, very suddenly, he says, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.
SPEAKER_01: Now, what's the big deal about that?
SPEAKER_01: If there is no life after death, then how you live in this life doesn't matter.
SPEAKER_01: But if there is life after death, like the Bible says there is, not just for Jesus, but for everyone.
SPEAKER_01: Matter of fact, everyone in this room is going to experience resurrection.
SPEAKER_01: They are.
SPEAKER_01: I was talking to a guy in a bar in Atlanta.
SPEAKER_01: You want to hear the rest of it now?
SPEAKER_01: You're like, what?
SPEAKER_01: I was in the airport.
SPEAKER_01: I was traveling, and the bar is where the TVs are.
SPEAKER_01: And so I'm standing in there, half foot in the bar, half foot out, in case a church person walks by and can go, I'm not in here with sinners.
SPEAKER_01: No.
SPEAKER_01: I'm all in.
SPEAKER_01: I'm like, the guy's like, you got to buy something.
SPEAKER_01: Like, give me a diet coke, okay?
SPEAKER_01: And so I'm standing there watching football, and a guy starts chatting me up and he says, Hey, uh, are you traveling?
SPEAKER_01: Are you from Atlanta?
SPEAKER_01: I'm like, no, I'm traveling, watching the game.
SPEAKER_01: And he goes, So what do you do for a living?
SPEAKER_01: And I'm kind of like, Really?
SPEAKER_01: Dude, I just want to watch football.
SPEAKER_01: And then clear as a bell, God says, Hey, fat head, talk to this guy.
SPEAKER_01: What do I do for a living?
SPEAKER_01: I said, Oh, he said, your business, you travel on business or pleasure?
SPEAKER_01: I said, Well, I thought this would make him leave me alone.
SPEAKER_01: I said, Well, my business is my pleasure.
SPEAKER_01: And he goes, Well, I've never thought that about my job.
SPEAKER_01: What do you do?
SPEAKER_01: And I said, I'm a preacher.
SPEAKER_01: And he was like, blankety blank.
SPEAKER_01: And I was like, okay, here we go.
SPEAKER_01: No more football.
SPEAKER_01: And so we start talking.
SPEAKER_01: And basically, over the next seven minutes, the guy tells me that, hey, I kind of believe in a reincarnation cycle where whenever bad people die, they don't get to come back, and only good people get to come back.
SPEAKER_01: And I'm just kind of like, what a friend we have in Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: Just tee it up and just whoop owl.
SPEAKER_01: And he said, You know what I mean?
SPEAKER_01: And I said, because by the way, that's not a question, that's an invitation to agree with you.
SPEAKER_01: Don't take that.
SPEAKER_01: He spools this out and says, you know, I think bad people die and karma.
SPEAKER_01: They just don't get to come back.
SPEAKER_01: And if you're good, you get to come back.
SPEAKER_01: Because that's karma, Jack.
SPEAKER_01: Don't mess with karma.
SPEAKER_01: And I said, So bad people die off, don't get to come back.
SPEAKER_01: Only good people get to come back.
SPEAKER_01: Why is the world not a happier place?
SPEAKER_01: Two cats get off their barstool and come over with their jack and coat.
SPEAKER_01: Hey, hey, I want to get in on this.
SPEAKER_01: It was like a Michael Jackson thriller video.
SPEAKER_01: It's like a knife fight all of a sudden.
SPEAKER_01: And I said, No, I'm just asking.
SPEAKER_01: I'm just, I'm spooling out what you said.
SPEAKER_01: You said bad people, when they die, they don't get to come back because thinks for them, but only good people get if that is true, and it's not.
SPEAKER_01: And one guy said, hey man, I think he's got you on this one.
SPEAKER_01: You think?
SPEAKER_01: And by the way, it's not me versus them.
SPEAKER_01: It's right versus wrong.
SPEAKER_01: You can be, and we're taught to be neutral in our colleges and universities.
SPEAKER_01: To not have, we are a generation of rights, not responsibilities.
SPEAKER_01: My greatest responsibility is to the truth.
SPEAKER_01: Whether I'm in this church or I'm standing in a bar in the Atlanta, Hartsfield airport.
SPEAKER_01: And the guy said, Well, you know what?
SPEAKER_01: That that does kind of make sense.
SPEAKER_01: I said, I'm not making fun of you.
SPEAKER_01: I'm not, I'm, I'm just saying that that is a non-sustainable belief.
SPEAKER_01: Because that that is proven to not be true.
SPEAKER_01: He goes, Yeah.
SPEAKER_01: And I said, you know what?
SPEAKER_01: I said, here's another thing to think about.
SPEAKER_01: I gotta get going on my plane.
SPEAKER_01: But everyone's gonna be resurrected.
SPEAKER_01: Not just good people, but bad people.
SPEAKER_01: Now, by the way, we get resurrected.
SPEAKER_01: The Bible says that for Christians, not being good or bad, because Christians aren't perfect.
SPEAKER_01: It's just what makes me a Christian is my faith is in Christ.
SPEAKER_01: There was a point, I said, You ever been married?
SPEAKER_01: He said, Well, I live with a woman, not the same.
SPEAKER_01: Not the same.
SPEAKER_01: Now relax.
SPEAKER_01: This is not a sermon on shacking up.
SPEAKER_01: Some of you, some of you are looking at your girlfriend right now, like, I told you we shouldn't have come.
SPEAKER_01: Relax.
SPEAKER_01: I said, You ever lived with a woman?
SPEAKER_01: I mean, if you've been married, you go, Well, live with some women.
SPEAKER_01: I said, Not the same.
SPEAKER_01: He goes, Yeah, it is.
SPEAKER_01: I said, No, it's not.
SPEAKER_01: Because when you get married, you stand in front of a church with a JP or somebody, but if you get married in church, they ask you that you say things like, Hey, I take you to be my lawful wedded wife, to have and hold in sickness and health, for richer or for poor, for better or worse, till death do us part.
SPEAKER_01: You oath yourself to that person.
SPEAKER_01: And I said, the resurrection unto life, the heaven is for people who've been married to Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: They didn't just shack up with Jesus for a little bit and then break up when it got hard.
SPEAKER_01: The dude off the bar still turned around and said, Yeah, I've shacked up with him before.
SPEAKER_01: I was like, Thank you.
SPEAKER_01: Hey, bartender, cut that guy off.
SPEAKER_01: I think he's had enough.
SPEAKER_01: And the guy's like, So you mean like committed relationship?
SPEAKER_01: And I said, better than that, covenant.
SPEAKER_01: You ever try to explain covenant in a bar over the sound of a football game?
SPEAKER_01: And I and I said, basically, it's God just oathing himself to you, saying, I'm not, I'm never gonna change my mind about you.
SPEAKER_01: I'm here.
SPEAKER_01: And he said, Well, what's the big deal?
SPEAKER_01: If there's no life after death, then how you live in this life doesn't matter.
SPEAKER_01: Which begs the question you ever look around the world and wonder why is there so much wrong?
SPEAKER_01: There's life after death, not just for not just for Christians.
SPEAKER_01: Everyone's gonna be resurrected.
SPEAKER_01: He said, Well, what happens to other people that don't believe in Jesus?
SPEAKER_01: I said, They're resurrected and then they're judged and they're sent to a place called hell.
SPEAKER_01: And I said, You call it bad karma.
SPEAKER_01: And I said, God sent his own son into the world.
SPEAKER_01: He lived a sinless life, he was crucified on a cross by a bunch of religious idiots, and then he was buried, and then he rose again.
SPEAKER_01: And he goes, Yeah, that resurrection thing.
SPEAKER_01: I don't know about that.
SPEAKER_01: I said, think about the resurrection like this.
SPEAKER_01: The resurrection is like the receipt that proves that your sin was paid for.
SPEAKER_01: God has accepted the payment for my sin and your sin.
SPEAKER_01: And he looked at me and goes, So you've sinned too a few times.
SPEAKER_01: This morning on the way to the airport, taking my rental car back.
SPEAKER_01: Want to choke some people in line.
SPEAKER_01: And he said, So you lose your temper sometime?
SPEAKER_01: No, I haven't lost my temper in years.
SPEAKER_01: That's bad.
SPEAKER_01: I've gotten mildly Frustrated.
SPEAKER_01: And he said, So you're not perfect.
SPEAKER_01: And I was like, dude, what?
SPEAKER_01: No.
SPEAKER_01: You think Christianity is being perfect?
SPEAKER_01: No, no, no, no, no.
SPEAKER_01: It's being in a relationship with God that affects the way you live.
SPEAKER_01: He's like, hmm.
SPEAKER_01: So it's life after death for everybody, yes.
SPEAKER_01: In one of two places, a place called heaven or a place called hell.
SPEAKER_01: You don't go to heaven because you're good.
SPEAKER_01: You go to heaven because you have a relationship with Christ.
SPEAKER_01: Now you believe in God, but there was a time that you confessed, hey, I've sinned, I've screwed this up, but I accept what Christ did on the cross in my place for my sin, and I accept him as my savior.
SPEAKER_01: He looked at me and he said, Man, that makes sense.
SPEAKER_01: And then he stuck his hand out and shook my hand.
SPEAKER_01: Now, some of you are kind of like, do people ever beat you up?
SPEAKER_01: No.
SPEAKER_01: I don't make fun of people.
SPEAKER_01: I don't belittle people.
SPEAKER_01: I tell them the truth because I, hey, I've been there.
SPEAKER_01: I've been that guy before.
SPEAKER_01: And he's like, Man, I wish you pastored church right here.
SPEAKER_01: I'd come to your church.
SPEAKER_01: I said, I'd be honored to be your pastor.
SPEAKER_01: He goes, even if I like the sauce, little did I know I would pastor one day a congregation of people that love the sauce.
SPEAKER_01: Some of you right now are thinking about what you're gonna do when you get home today.
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna have me some of that ham and some of that Jesus juice.
SPEAKER_01: I was in the airport the other day, and a grandma had a blouse on that had rhinestone wine glass, and it said grandma sippy cup under it.
SPEAKER_01: I was like, maybe not.
SPEAKER_01: Maybe not.
SPEAKER_01: Hey, the third thing that stop laughing, you're in church.
SPEAKER_01: You're supposed to be sad and miserable.
SPEAKER_01: It's Easter.
SPEAKER_01: Just give us our whippet and then we'll go home.
SPEAKER_01: The third thing the resurrection reveals when he flips the light on is that death comes for a reason.
SPEAKER_01: Death comes for a reason.
SPEAKER_01: Look at verse 21, for it's by a man came death.
SPEAKER_01: Hello.
SPEAKER_01: For it's by a man came death.
SPEAKER_01: Therefore, you cannot say that God is responsible with what the Bible says man's responsible for.
SPEAKER_01: For it's by a man came death, and by a man has also come the resurrection of the dead.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 22, for as in Adam, that's who this man is, as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
SPEAKER_01: I say death comes for a reason.
SPEAKER_01: Did you know this?
SPEAKER_01: If you went to the centers for disease control to their website, they could tell you there's 113 different causes of death, and they're grouped into 20 categories, but they cannot tell you what the number one cause of death is.
SPEAKER_01: They'll tell you it's heart disease or cancer or diabetes or whatever, but the Bible says that death comes to us all because of sin.
SPEAKER_01: So therefore, the number one cause of death in the world is sin.
SPEAKER_01: God created a perfect world where humanity could flourish forever, but because of Adam's disobedience.
SPEAKER_01: That's why the Bible says it's not narking on Adam.
SPEAKER_01: It's kind of like, hey, dude, that poor Adam guy got a rough deal.
SPEAKER_01: No, God put him in the garden, okay?
SPEAKER_01: The Garden of Eden, paradise, perfection.
SPEAKER_01: He created all the animals, brought them to Adam and said, Whatever you name them, that's their name, he named them.
SPEAKER_01: And then God said, I'm gonna, well, first God said, I'm gonna make you a helper suitable for you.
SPEAKER_01: And then he makes all the animals.
SPEAKER_01: Why did he do that?
SPEAKER_01: Because he doesn't want Adam to think about animals the way he thinks about his wife.
SPEAKER_01: Think about that next time your husband goes to the deer lease.
SPEAKER_01: Pull that out, ladies.
SPEAKER_01: Hey, doesn't it?
SPEAKER_01: But he makes all the stuff, and the Bible says there was not found a suitable helper for Adam.
SPEAKER_01: So God says, Hey, Adam, I'm gonna, he makes Adam fall asleep, takes a rib, makes a woman.
SPEAKER_01: Adam wakes up from his nap, and there's a beautiful naked woman standing there.
SPEAKER_01: How hard can that be, man?
SPEAKER_01: He writes a note.
SPEAKER_01: Member self, take more naps.
SPEAKER_01: Now, I'm not trying to be inappropriate.
SPEAKER_01: I'm just trying to tell you what the Bible says.
SPEAKER_01: It's that perfect.
SPEAKER_01: God's created everything.
SPEAKER_01: And how do you screw that up?
SPEAKER_01: Very simply, you don't trust God.
SPEAKER_01: God says, you're free to eat of any tree in the garden.
SPEAKER_01: He says to you and your new naked wife, be fruitful and multiply.
SPEAKER_01: And they just thought, hey, God's somehow holding out on me.
SPEAKER_01: God's trying to rip me off.
SPEAKER_01: I gotta watch that.
SPEAKER_01: And so because they sinned, they disobeyed God, death enters into the world.
SPEAKER_01: So I don't know what you mean.
SPEAKER_01: Notice that the Bible doesn't say sin but death.
SPEAKER_01: Because the Bible takes things to their logical conclusions so you can think rightly about what is being said.
SPEAKER_01: The Bible doesn't say right there, hey, verse 21, for as by a man came sin, for as by a man came death.
SPEAKER_01: Translation, if you look around and wonder, hey, you look around and think, if there's a God and He's as good as you Christians say he is, then why is the world so messed up?
SPEAKER_01: Here's your explanation.
SPEAKER_01: For as by a man came death.
SPEAKER_01: For as in Adam all die.
SPEAKER_01: That's why.
SPEAKER_01: Because the first man didn't trust the only God.
SPEAKER_01: And because of that, sin entered into the world.
SPEAKER_01: I was born in sin, you were born in sin.
SPEAKER_01: You gotta learn to ask yourself thought-provoking questions.
SPEAKER_01: Like, here's four questions that when you look around the world, you should ask yourself.
SPEAKER_01: Number one is how did we get here?
SPEAKER_01: How did we get here?
SPEAKER_01: Number two, what happened?
SPEAKER_01: The Bible speaks of that right here.
SPEAKER_01: What happened?
SPEAKER_01: Third question is, what's the solution?
SPEAKER_01: What's the solution?
SPEAKER_01: The last question is, how's this all gonna end?
SPEAKER_01: How's this all gonna end?
SPEAKER_01: You begin to think digestively about things like that, and all of a sudden you realize things that you've said to yourself just to insulate you from the truth, all of a sudden don't bring you as much comfort anymore.
SPEAKER_01: See, the you look around, you can't blame God because God created humanity, and just like Adam and Eve, he created you and I, and he gave us what's called a free will.
SPEAKER_01: What do you mean, a free will?
SPEAKER_01: We're not robots.
SPEAKER_01: God doesn't control us.
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes people have a free will, and sometimes that means they use it for good purposes, and sometimes they use it for evil purposes, and those evil purposes the Bible calls sin.
SPEAKER_01: And the Bible tells us all the way through that the consequence of sin is death.
SPEAKER_01: So it comes along and it tells us, hey, the resurrection reveals that death comes for a reason.
SPEAKER_01: That the world is disorganized and disoriented, not because God's not good or in control, but because man likes to use his free will to say, I want to love that person, I want to steal from that person, I want to lie about that person, I I whatever I gotta do to get what I want, I'm gonna do it.
SPEAKER_01: You can't blame God for that.
SPEAKER_01: Fourth thing the resurrection reveals is that Jesus came for a reason.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 21 and 22, it just kind of piggybacks right there on Adam.
SPEAKER_01: He says, For as by a man came death, by a man that's Jesus, has come also the resurrection of the dead.
SPEAKER_01: For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
SPEAKER_01: Now, let me caution you against something.
SPEAKER_01: You hear that, for as in Adam all dies, in Christ all will be made alive.
SPEAKER_01: Well, that doesn't the Bible teach universalism?
SPEAKER_01: No, it doesn't.
SPEAKER_01: Read the next verse.
SPEAKER_01: Look at verse 23.
SPEAKER_01: He says, but each in his own order, Christ the first fruits, and then in his coming, those who belong to Christ.
SPEAKER_01: The Bible never teaches universalism.
SPEAKER_01: The Bible never says God's so loving, he's gonna let everybody in.
SPEAKER_01: The only people that get into heaven are the people that belong to Christ, who've oath themselves in a covenant relationship.
SPEAKER_01: It's not, I don't want to sound all headed, everything.
SPEAKER_01: It's just as simple as I was talking to a lady one time and I said, Why don't you she said, I want to have a relationship with this God.
SPEAKER_01: And I said, Why don't you just tell him what's on your heart?
SPEAKER_01: And she goes, Well, can you can you lead me in a prayer?
SPEAKER_01: And I said, I can, but God wants to hear you talk.
SPEAKER_01: And she said, Well, I I've never prayed.
SPEAKER_01: And I said, Well, she said, I prayed when I was a little girl.
SPEAKER_01: You know, God is great, God is good, let us thank him for our food, amen.
SPEAKER_01: And I said, just pray whatever's in your heart.
SPEAKER_01: And she said, Well, will you hold my hands?
SPEAKER_01: And so I held her hands and she was like, Well, uh, God, uh, Jesus, uh, Lord, and uh, and I said, Relax.
SPEAKER_01: And out of her mouth came these words, God, I've screwed my life up, and I just don't know what to do.
SPEAKER_01: I just find it hard to believe that you would want me and love me and accept me and forgive me.
SPEAKER_01: But this guy says you do, and so I'm gonna believe him and trust you.
SPEAKER_01: And I was like, hold your calls, we have a winner.
SPEAKER_01: And she looked up during her prayer and she said, Is that good enough?
SPEAKER_01: And I said, Hey, by the way, God doesn't let you in because you say all the right words.
SPEAKER_01: God hears your heart.
SPEAKER_01: You could have stopped when you said, God, I've screwed this up.
SPEAKER_01: She's like, Okay.
SPEAKER_01: When I say Jesus Christ came for a reason, think for a minute, you're smart people.
SPEAKER_01: Doesn't it stand a reason that if the consequence of our sin is death?
SPEAKER_01: Again, hear this.
SPEAKER_01: Doesn't it stand a reason that if the consequence of our sin is death, that if God really loved us, he would send Jesus to give us life and not a lecture?
SPEAKER_01: That's what a loving God would do, right?
SPEAKER_01: We're currently preaching to the gospel of John here at Grand Parkway.
SPEAKER_01: We'll pick it up next week.
SPEAKER_01: We started way back in chapter one.
SPEAKER_01: Uh in chapter one, verse four and five says this about Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: In him was life, and the life was the light of men, and the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness is not overcome it.
SPEAKER_01: Hear what it says.
SPEAKER_01: In him was life.
SPEAKER_01: In him was life, and that life was the light of men.
SPEAKER_01: It doesn't say in him was condemnation, in him was a ticked-off deity that's out to get sinners.
SPEAKER_01: No, in him was life.
SPEAKER_01: Why?
SPEAKER_01: Because people who sin die.
SPEAKER_01: He says nine chapters later in John chapter 10, verse 10, Jesus says himself, I came that they may have life and have it more abundantly.
SPEAKER_01: Ask yourself this question today.
SPEAKER_01: What if the reason Jesus Christ came into the world was not to condemn you?
SPEAKER_01: Matter of fact, the Bible tells us also in the Gospel of John that God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but that through him the world might be saved.
SPEAKER_01: What if the reason Christ came is so you and I could have a life?
SPEAKER_01: You would have to live under this crushing burden of all the bad things you've done in your life.
SPEAKER_01: That's what I mean when I say Jesus Christ came for a reason.
SPEAKER_01: The last thing I would say to you is simply this is that the Bible tells us in verse 24 that someone's in charge.
SPEAKER_01: That someone is in charge.
SPEAKER_01: Look at verse 24.
SPEAKER_01: Then comes the end.
SPEAKER_01: When he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and every power.
SPEAKER_01: Hear it again.
SPEAKER_01: Then comes the end.
SPEAKER_01: When he gives the kingdom to God the Father, after destroying every rule, every authority, and every power.
SPEAKER_01: Every rule, every authority, and every power.
SPEAKER_01: Every rule, every person that makes up a rule that's contrary to God's rule is going to be destroyed.
SPEAKER_01: Every person that says, Well, I know, but you know, this is me, and this is what I think.
SPEAKER_01: Every rule, every authority, and every power is going to be destroyed.
SPEAKER_01: That's not hate, that's love.
SPEAKER_01: You have to hate people to know that to be true and see people engage in things that make up their own rules, whether it be their sexuality, their morals, their money, whatever.
SPEAKER_01: You have to hate those people to watch them do that, to make up their own rule and kind of go, hey, you know what, if you love me, you've got to agree with me.
SPEAKER_01: No, I would say that's hate.
SPEAKER_01: Love is to say, hey, there's gonna come a day.
SPEAKER_01: God is fixed today.
SPEAKER_01: He says right here in verse 24, just hear the first few words.
SPEAKER_01: Then comes the end.
SPEAKER_01: Now look at me.
SPEAKER_01: This is not a doomsday sermon.
SPEAKER_01: I don't want you to walk out and go, oh, that God was talking about the end of the world, and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
SPEAKER_01: No, no, no, no, no.
SPEAKER_01: Before that, that's true.
SPEAKER_01: That's going to come.
SPEAKER_01: But look at me.
SPEAKER_01: Before that, here's what I want you to hear.
SPEAKER_01: Someone's in charge of everything.
SPEAKER_01: Now, I got to distinguish between being in charge and being responsible.
SPEAKER_01: God's in charge, but he's not responsible because you have a free will.
SPEAKER_01: Like, for example, when I say, why is this a big deal?
SPEAKER_01: Why does the resurrection reveal that someone's in charge?
SPEAKER_01: And why should that matter today?
SPEAKER_01: Here's why it should matter.
SPEAKER_01: As you sit here in this room, 40,000 tons, 40,000 tons of Chinese space station is hurtling to the earth.
SPEAKER_01: I don't know if you know that or not.
SPEAKER_01: Burning through the atmosphere.
SPEAKER_01: A lot of it's gonna burn up on re-entry.
SPEAKER_01: But I'm just, this is this news story this weekend, and I just like to channel surf because commercials are of the devil.
SPEAKER_01: I don't watch commercials.
SPEAKER_01: And so my wife's like, why do you have to hop around?
SPEAKER_01: Why do you gotta talk?
SPEAKER_01: Just be quiet.
SPEAKER_01: Pop, pop, pop, pop.
SPEAKER_01: I'm getting education here.
SPEAKER_01: And she's like, Oh, you're an idiot.
SPEAKER_01: Because she likes the commercials.
SPEAKER_01: I'm like, I don't.
SPEAKER_01: They're just trying to brainwash you into buying stuff.
SPEAKER_01: You don't need to buy more stuff.
SPEAKER_01: And so I would go to different channels and consistently through the news cycle.
SPEAKER_01: They're talking about this and they're trying to figure it out.
SPEAKER_01: And so to bring us comfort, they got a former astronaut who's a professor at Columbia.
SPEAKER_01: No comfort at all from this guy.
SPEAKER_01: Here's what he says when this little Bill Nye sign's got to sell.
SPEAKER_01: Well, most of them's gonna burn up on re-entry, and so best we can tell, only 40,000 tons could hit the earth.
SPEAKER_01: Shut up.
SPEAKER_01: I saw Armagaddon, did you?
SPEAKER_01: Bruce Willis is too old to save us, folks.
SPEAKER_01: And so they're like 40,000 tons, and then I'm kind of like, and then the guy, I'm not making this up.
SPEAKER_01: The guy says this, he says, and besides, if you've seen Earth from space, you realize that there's a lot of water.
SPEAKER_01: You're not helping here, Skippy.
SPEAKER_01: And then he said this.
SPEAKER_01: He said, and besides, we have a large land mass, and we only occupy a small portion of the large land mass.
SPEAKER_01: I love engineers.
SPEAKER_01: I love them.
SPEAKER_01: Stay with me, some of you engineers, like, meh.
SPEAKER_01: No, just like, is this supposed to bring me comfort?
SPEAKER_01: And then they put up a map of the United States and they showed it as against a northern part of the United States, this all the way across from California to New York up north.
SPEAKER_01: And they were kind of like, and here's the crazy thing.
SPEAKER_01: When they showed this box of destruction where 40,000 pounds of space junk could land on people, if it doesn't land in the ocean, I thought, okay, Texas is not in that.
SPEAKER_01: We're good.
SPEAKER_01: If it hits California, that's a sign that God's on the move.
SPEAKER_01: They want us to see it anyway.
SPEAKER_01: We'll we'll just saw them off with some space junk.
SPEAKER_01: Here you go, California is now an island.
SPEAKER_01: Enjoy yourself out there.
SPEAKER_01: But I just thought, I mean, I'm sitting there looking at the TV and I'm just and they cut back to the anchors and they're like, Well, thank you, Professor.
SPEAKER_01: And they looked at each other kind of like, really?
SPEAKER_01: There's no comfort in that.
SPEAKER_01: Ask yourself this question: what do you find comfort in?
SPEAKER_01: When the chips are down.
SPEAKER_01: What do you find comfort in?
SPEAKER_01: Because the Bible's very clear.
SPEAKER_01: Someone's in charge.
SPEAKER_01: Someone is in charge.
SPEAKER_01: And it says this.
SPEAKER_01: And then comes the end.
SPEAKER_01: And he delivers the kingdom to God, the Father, after destroying every rule, every authority, and every power.
SPEAKER_01: Here's a simple question: who makes the rules for you?
SPEAKER_01: What authority do you submit to?
SPEAKER_01: What power do you recognize?
SPEAKER_01: Because the Bible says right here that God's going to destroy, Jesus is going to destroy all those three entities that stand opposed to him.
SPEAKER_01: And I don't say that because I hate you.
SPEAKER_01: I say that because I love you.
SPEAKER_01: And if you're in this room and you make up your own rules about your life, it's not going to be well for you.
SPEAKER_01: Because one day the end's going to come.
SPEAKER_01: And I don't say that to stir up fear.
SPEAKER_01: I say that to say, you might want to rethink that.
SPEAKER_01: Okay?
SPEAKER_01: Because this is like when the light comes on.
SPEAKER_01: You don't have to stand hunched over, ill-prepared, like, oh, sorry.
SPEAKER_01: No, because Christ rose from the dead.
SPEAKER_01: And by doing that, he shed light on a lot of things today.
SPEAKER_01: Let's pray together.
SPEAKER_01: If you're a guest today, just relax.
SPEAKER_01: We like to teach the Bible and then give you some soul space to think about it.
SPEAKER_01: And so just ask yourself, hey, what'd the Bible say to me today?
SPEAKER_01: What had my name on it?
SPEAKER_01: What stood out?
SPEAKER_01: Maybe for some of you, you you need to rethink the rules that you live by.
SPEAKER_01: Maybe you need to ask yourself, what authority do I submit to?
SPEAKER_01: How do I define power?
SPEAKER_01: If you hear anything this morning, hear this.
SPEAKER_01: That there is a God in this world.
SPEAKER_01: And he sent his own son who lived a sinless life, he was crucified on a cross, he was buried, and he rose from the dead.
SPEAKER_01: And he's the first fruits.
SPEAKER_01: That means there's more fruit.
SPEAKER_01: That means that if you ever come to the point in your life where you say, you know what, I surrender my life to you.
SPEAKER_01: You can know this God.
SPEAKER_01: He's knowable.
SPEAKER_01: He's not out there in the cosmos just looking down.
SPEAKER_01: He's right here, right now, and available.
SPEAKER_01: You could just even now, in the quietness of your heart, just say, God, I surrender.
SPEAKER_01: I want to know you.
SPEAKER_01: I want a relationship with you.
SPEAKER_01: Any of us will be glad to talk to you about that.
SPEAKER_01: Or you could utilize that little uh guest card and just check on and say, Hey, I want to talk to someone about this.
SPEAKER_01: I got some questions.
SPEAKER_01: That's fine.
SPEAKER_01: But for right now, just ask God, hey God, what do I need to think about after this morning?
SPEAKER_01: Father, thank you that the Bible says of itself that it has the capacity to cut through all the nonsense.
SPEAKER_01: It says it like this: it's able to, it's quick and powerful and sharp than any two-edged sword.
SPEAKER_01: And it that's not to destroy or bring destruction, but revelation.
SPEAKER_01: It says it pierces to the dividing asunder of joints and marrow and becomes a discerner of the thoughts and intents of our heart.
SPEAKER_01: And so, Lord, discern the thoughts and intents of our heart so that we could align ourselves with a truth that's been revealed in the resurrection.
SPEAKER_01: I pray for folks in this room that are contemplating what a relationship with you is about.
SPEAKER_01: Let them know that that's available today.
SPEAKER_01: Forgiveness is available today.
SPEAKER_01: This all-powerful God sacrificed his son in our place and for our sins.
SPEAKER_01: We're humbled by that God.
SPEAKER_01: Let us be humble to the place and the point of obedience.
SPEAKER_01: We pray in Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_01: And everyone said, Amen.
SPEAKER_01: Let me say thanks for your attendance today.
SPEAKER_01: If you're our guest, be sure and fly out one of those guest cards.
SPEAKER_01: If you have any spiritual questions, myself and some of our pastors will be available down front.
SPEAKER_01: Or you can just write on that on that guest card and just drop it on these wooden boxes by the doors on your way out.
SPEAKER_01: If today's the day you worship God through obedience or generosity, that's where you do that as well.
SPEAKER_01: Let me make you aware of a couple things by announcement, and then I'll dismiss you.
SPEAKER_01: Number one, we have a marriage conference coming up a little over a month from now uh with Dr.
SPEAKER_01: Dan Allender.
SPEAKER_01: Uh, Dr.
SPEAKER_01: Allender is really a world-renowned therapist, uh counselor, uh speaker.
SPEAKER_01: He is going to be here live in our sanctuary on May 4th and 5th.
SPEAKER_01: It's Friday night and Saturday.
SPEAKER_01: Uh it's a great opportunity to make an investment in your marriage.
SPEAKER_01: You can register at our website, it's grandparkway.org if you have any questions.
SPEAKER_01: You do not have to be a member of our church to come to this.
SPEAKER_01: We believe that it's money well spent when you invest uh in your marriage.
SPEAKER_01: And so I strongly encourage uh you to be a part of this, okay?
SPEAKER_01: Second thing I'll remind you of is our women's retreat coming up in a couple weeks.
SPEAKER_01: Uh it's at Piney Woods uh encampment, which is a little over two hours from here.
SPEAKER_01: Uh and the theme this year is just found.
SPEAKER_01: Just found.
SPEAKER_01: It's a great opportunity to just get away, disconnect from all your duties, and kind of reconnect with your identity.
SPEAKER_01: And you're all invited.
SPEAKER_01: They're registered in the lobby.
SPEAKER_01: If you have any questions, see one of the ladies there.
SPEAKER_01: Last thing I'll remind you of is that our starting point, our new members' class, is next Sunday at 11:30.
SPEAKER_01: It's in the fellowship hall, which is right here behind me.
SPEAKER_01: You say if you're visiting today, like, what is that?
SPEAKER_01: Uh it's part of our membership process.
SPEAKER_01: We believe membership matters.
SPEAKER_01: Uh and so basically in this class, we tell you, hey, this is who we are as a church.
SPEAKER_01: This is what we believe, this is how we function.
SPEAKER_01: Like, for example, we're an elder-led church, which means I, as the pastor, am not in charge, and I'm not supposed to be in charge.
SPEAKER_01: Uh, I function as a leader among equals, and so we are governed by uh the elder body, which is five godly spiritual men that give leadership to our church.
SPEAKER_01: And so we talk about things like that in starting point in class.
SPEAKER_01: It's a great opportunity to get information.
SPEAKER_01: We'd love you to be a part of that.
SPEAKER_01: You can register on our website.
SPEAKER_01: It does not obligate you to join.
SPEAKER_01: You could you'll have the opportunity to become a member, but you can come and just get information.
SPEAKER_01: And we trust you to listen at how God's leading in your life, okay?
SPEAKER_01: That's all I got.
SPEAKER_01: Stand to your feet if you would.
SPEAKER_01: Hold your hands out.
SPEAKER_01: Christ has risen from the dead, and by doing so, he has turned the light on.
SPEAKER_01: Walk now freely in light of all that God has revealed.
SPEAKER_01: In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: Bless you to miss you.