His Resurrection

As we consider tonight the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the first is 1st Corinthians chapter 15, verses 12 through 20. And then the second will be John chapter 10, verses 17 and 18. 1 Corinthians 15, verse 12, Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen? And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.

Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ, whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised? And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain, ye are yet in your sins. Then they also who are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.

If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept? John chapter 10, verses 17 and 18, our Lord speaks, Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself.

I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. The greatest miracle our Lord ever performed when he was here on earth was his own resurrection.

He had raised other people from the dead, but they died again. Jairus' daughter died. That young man in Nain died.

Lazarus died. But our Lord Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, never to die again. Death has no more dominion over him.

He lives by the power of an endless life. But the beautiful thing is this. Not only was he raised from the dead, never to die again, but he raised himself from the dead while he was dead.

That is a tremendous miracle. Now the resurrection of Jesus Christ is bound with the witness of the Church. Because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we have a whole new people on the earth, the Church.

We have a new day, the Lord's Day. For centuries, God's people, the Jews, had celebrated the Sabbath day. But now God's people, the Church, celebrate the Lord's Day.

We have a new book, the New Testament. We have a new hope, the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ to take us home. And so the witness of the Church and the walk of the Church are bound together in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Paul makes this very clear in 1 Corinthians 15. Therefore we had better understand the resurrection. If the life that you possess is resurrection life, if the gospel that we preach is the gospel of the resurrection, Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, he was buried, and he arose again according to the scriptures, then everything we preach and everything we practice and everything we believe is tied into the resurrection.

We'd better understand it. I think the best way for us to understand it is to look at it from three different viewpoints. First of all, let's look at the resurrection of Jesus Christ historically.

What are the facts? Then let's look at the resurrection of Jesus Christ prophetically. He arose again according to the scriptures. That means the scriptures of the Old Testament.

Then finally, let's look at the resurrection of Jesus Christ practically. What difference does it make that Jesus Christ arose from the dead? First of all, the resurrection of Jesus Christ historically. From the very beginning, the enemies of the Lord denied and fought the truth of the resurrection.

Now, the story is given to us in Matthew chapter 28, and a familiar story it is. When the Roman guards discovered that their dead prisoner was gone, how much more embarrassed could people be? It's understandable that we could lose a living prisoner, but here they are guarding a tomb. Can you imagine them going back to their barracks and reporting, we lost our prisoner? Well, who was your prisoner? A dead man.

That's embarrassing. In fact, they could have been killed for it. When a Roman soldier is put on a commission, he is to fulfill that commission.

You remember when the guards couldn't find the apostle Peter in Acts chapter 12, those guards were taken out and slain. The word got back that the body was gone. Verse 11 of Matthew 28.

Now when they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and showed unto the chief priests all the things that were done. And when they were assembled with the elders and had taken counsel, they gave much money unto the soldiers, saying, Say ye, his disciples came by night and stole him away while we slept. And if this come to the governor's ears, we will persuade him and secure you.

And so they took the money and did as they were taught. And this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day. You see, the first lie about the resurrection is that the body was stolen.

Now, let's just step aside from the Bible for just a moment. And think about this lie logically. If his body were stolen, it was taken either by his friends or by his enemies.

If it was taken by his friends, how did they do it? Would they dare to approach a Roman guard? Would they dare to break a Roman seal? And furthermore, they didn't even believe in the resurrection. You must remember that the apostles of the Lord did not believe. They had forgotten what the Jews remembered.

Remember the leaders of the Jewish people said, We remember that this deceiver said in three days I'll rise again. The apostles didn't remember that. They did not expect the Lord Jesus to be raised from the dead.

And so if his friends took his body, how did they do it? If his enemies took his body, why did they do it? The very thing they were trying to prevent was the disappearance of the body of Jesus Christ. They posted that guard to make sure the body would not be stolen. And so an argument like this, our Lord's body was stolen, simply is not logical.

If his friends took the body, how? If his enemies took the body, why? If his enemies took the body, why didn't they bring the body forth and say, Look, you're telling me that he's alive. Here's his body. Of course, the second lie that men have been telling about the resurrection is this, that our Lord did not really arise from the dead, but the disciples had visions.

They just thought they saw him and they saw him in sort of a spiritual way. Well, as I've mentioned to you, the disciples did not expect to see the Lord Jesus. Now, there have been cases in history where someone has lost a loved one and those left behind have been so wrapped up in that loved one that they have had hallucinations.

There have been times when people in mourning and grief abnormally. Have slipped over the line just a little bit, and they've thought they've seen the one that they loved, but you must remember, first of all, that they did not expect to see Jesus. Secondly, when they saw him, they weren't even sure he had to prove himself to them.

Thirdly, over 500 people at one time saw him. Now, I can understand one or two people having hallucinations, but 500, it just doesn't make sense. Furthermore, the greatest argument against this vision theory is Saul of Tarsus.

If anyone believed that Jesus Christ was dead, it was Saul of Tarsus. In fact, he was arresting people to prove that this was true. And yet he saw the Lord Jesus Christ.

Who art thou, Lord? I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest. What wilt thou have me to do? Arise, go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou shalt do. And Paul gave his life because he knew that Jesus was alive.

You can't explain the resurrection of Christ on the basis of hallucinations or visions. A third lie is that they went to the wrong tomb. I heard about a preacher, and I've always feared that this would someday happen to me, but thank God it hasn't.

I heard about a preacher who got to a cemetery for a committal service, and there were two other funerals in the cemetery, and he got to the wrong grave. Very embarrassing. He found himself there, and he was supposed to bury somebody that he didn't even know who it was, because he got into the wrong line somewhere in the funeral procession.

That would be embarrassing. I had a pastor friend who had a double wedding one night and almost married the wrong woman to the wrong man. That would be embarrassing.

They say, well, the disciples went to the wrong tomb. If they'd gone to the right tomb, they would have found that they went to the wrong tomb and it was empty. Now, can you imagine these dear women who loved the Lord Jesus going to the wrong tomb? In the first place, this tomb belonged to Joseph of Arimathea.

It's my conviction that Joseph prepared this new tomb for the Lord Jesus, not for himself, but for Jesus. When our Lord was taken off the cross, Joseph and Nicodemus were all set to bury him. How did they know when he died? They were in that garden at that tomb waiting for him to die.

They had all the spices ready. You're not going to go out in Passover season and buy 100 pounds of spices just like that. They were all ready.

They knew where the tomb was. The women knew where the tomb was. They saw where he had been laid, and they were prepared to come back to finish the embalming of the body.

No, you can't say they went to the wrong tomb. That's a lie. Of course, the usual argument is that our Lord Jesus Christ did not die.

He swooned. He merely swooned on the cross. When they took him down from the cross and put him into the cool tomb, he awakened and came forth, and they said he's raised from the dead.

We have all kinds of problems with that. Number one, no body came off of a cross until it was dead. In fact, they tested the bodies to prove they were dead.

Remember, they broke the legs of the bodies of the two thieves to hasten their death. When they came to the Lord Jesus, they did not break his legs because he already was dead. Now, usually they broke the legs of people on the cross, but the Old Testament scripture said not a bone of him shall be broken.

And so they did not do what they were supposed to do, break his bones. And they did what they weren't supposed to do. They stabbed his side, and that was scriptural.

They shall look upon me whom they have pierced. Our Lord Jesus was dead when he came from the cross. They made sure of this.

In fact, Pilate, when he got word from Nicodemus that he wanted to have the body, said is he dead already? They checked, and he was. But if putting a crucified person into a cool tomb will do for him what it did for Jesus, lead me to a nice cool tomb. Because when my Lord appeared to his disciples, he walked through doors.

He appeared here, and he disappeared, and he was over here. And there was a radiance and a glory about him. No, he was in a glorified body.

He wasn't someone who had swooned. I can imagine what a person would look like, taken from a cross, resuscitated. Not resurrected, but resuscitated.

He certainly wouldn't act the way Jesus acted. He'd need six months in a retirement home someplace to get well. No, our Lord came forth raised from the dead.

You see, the historical evidence is so obvious for the resurrection of Christ. This is why people reject it. We have witnesses who didn't even believe in the resurrection who attested to it.

Thomas wasn't sure about it. Saul of Tarsus was against it. We have the empty tomb and the grave close.

We have the changed behavior of the disciples. How do you explain cowering, cringing Peter, who stands before thousands of Jews and said, You denied the Holy One and the Just One. That's what Peter himself had done.

How do you explain the fact that here we have a group of people who willingly gave their lives for the Lord Jesus? People don't give their lives for somebody who's dead. They give their lives for someone they know is alive who has changed their lives. We have the conversion of the Apostle Paul.

We have the growth of the church. We have the conversion of sinners today. Every time you have the joy of leading someone to Jesus Christ, you are saying he's alive.

Every time a sinner comes to the Savior, it's evidence that our Savior is alive. I don't know when our liberal friends are going to quit trying, but for centuries they've been trying to disprove the resurrection of Jesus Christ. You know what? They can't succeed.

He's alive. The record is clear. The witnesses are true.

He's alive. Of course, you and I don't need a course in apologetics to prove the resurrection of Christ. We sang today, You Ask Me How I Know He Lives.

He lives within my heart. Let's look now at the resurrection of Jesus Christ prophetically. You see, the gospel recorded in 1 Corinthians 15 says, I delivered unto you first of all, or of first importance, that which also I received, that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures.

Now we have no problem with that. The Old Testament scriptures talk about the death of Christ all the way from Genesis 3.15 to Zechariah chapter 13. All the way through the Old Testament, the bloodline is there.

And so when the scripture says, Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, we have no problem. You can lead people to Christ from the Old Testament scriptures. Then it goes on to say, and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.

And here Paul is saying the Old Testament scriptures. I wonder how many of us tonight could prove the resurrection of Christ from the Old Testament scriptures. Now we have the record in Matthew 28.

We have the record in Mark and Luke and John. It's mentioned in Acts. It's mentioned in many of the New Testament letters.

The resurrection is there. How about the Old Testament? Well, once again, the New Testament helps us here. We're going to look at old and new together, so get your Bibles before you.

Psalm 2, and having found Psalm 2, you will find Acts chapter 13. Now you ought to note these verses because someday somebody is going to ask you. You might have the privilege of witnessing to someone who says, I believe the Old Testament, but I'm not so sure about the New.

Psalm 2. Now the second Psalm, as you know, is a prophetic Psalm having to do with the Lord Jesus Christ, the King. In verses 1, 2, and 3, you have the voice of the nations, a voice of rebellion. Then in verses 4, 5, and 6, you have the voice of God the Father.

He that sitteth in the heaven shall laugh. I have set my King upon my holy hill of Zion. Then in verses 7, 8, and 9, you have the voice of God the Son.

And then in verses 10, 11, and 12, the voice of God the Holy Spirit saying to the world, be wise, serve the Lord, and kiss the Son. Trust him. Now look at the words of the Lord Jesus in verse 7 of Psalm 2. He is speaking and he says, I will declare the decree.

The Lord, that's God the Father, has said unto me, God the Son, thou art my Son. This day have I begotten thee. Now we would read this and say, well, it's talking about when the Lord was born, but that's not what he's saying.

This day have I begotten thee does not refer to his birth in Bethlehem, but to his resurrection. Acts chapter 13, the Apostle Paul is preaching in Antioch and verse 32, he comes now to the conclusion of his message. And we declare unto you good news, glad tidings, how the promise which was made unto the fathers, God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children in that he hath raised up Jesus again.

As it is written in the second Psalm, thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. The Lord Jesus Christ was begotten in the virgin womb of Mary to be born into this world. But his resurrection from the virgin tomb of Joseph of Arimathea brought him forth into glory and power.

When he was begotten and born in Bethlehem, it was as a babe in weakness. But when he was begotten and born from that resurrection tomb, it was in power and great glory. And so Psalm 2, verse 7 promises the resurrection.

Now you're in the Psalms and so turn to Psalm 16 and keep your place in Acts 13, Psalm 16, a Psalm of David. Verse 8, I have set the Lord always before me because he is at my right hand. I shall not be moved.

Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoiceth. My flesh also shall rest in hope. Now it's good to have a glad heart, but it's also good to know that God's going to do something for your body.

My flesh also shall rest in hope, for thou wilt not leave my soul in, now King James tells us hell, the word there is sheol, the realm of the dead. Thou wilt not leave my soul in sheol, neither wilt thou permit thine Holy One to see corruption. Now back in Psalm 13, verse 34 and 35, and as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption.

He said in this way, and here he quotes from Isaiah, I will give you the sure mercies of David, wherefore he saith also in another Psalm, thou shalt not allow thine Holy One to see corruption. For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption, but he whom God raised again saw no corruption. Now Peter preached this same message back at Pentecost.

Acts chapter 2 and verse 23, him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain, whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that he should be held by it. For David speaketh concerning him, and here is Psalm 16, I foresaw the Lord always before my face. He is on my right hand, that I should not be moved.

Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad, moreover my flesh also shall rest in hope, for thou wilt not leave my soul in Hades, or Sheol, the realm of the dead, neither wilt thou allow thine Holy One to see corruption. Now verse 29, men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulcher is with us unto this day. Therefore being a prophet, not just a psalmist, but a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne.

He seeing this before spoke of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in Hades, neither his flesh did see corruption. This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Well, how about Psalm 110? In Psalm 110, which is a messianic psalm of the priesthood of our Lord Jesus, verse 1, the Lord, capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D, Jehovah God the Father, the Lord saith unto my Lord, God the Son, sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.

Well, back to Acts chapter 2, verse 34, For David is not ascended into the heavens, but he saith himself the Lord, saith unto my Lord, sit thou on my right hand, until I make thy foes thy footstool. So from three of the psalms we're able to find, and we could look at other passages, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Now not only does the prophet give us the resurrection of Christ in statement, but the prophet gives us the resurrection of Christ in type.

There are types of the resurrection of Christ in the Old Testament. I'll take two of them, because they're very familiar. One of them is the cleansing of the leper.

When a leper had been cleansed of his sin, he came to the priest. The priest came to him and examined him to see that he was clean. And then the leper had to go out and get two birds and an earthen jar and some hyssop and some scarlet.

And the priest and the leper went outside the camp to a running stream of clear water, and they did a strange thing. They took the little bird and pushed it into the jar over the running water, then took a knife and killed the bird. Then took the blood of that bird and put it on the other bird and turned the bird loose.

You've got here death, resurrection. Birds belong up in heaven. When you take a bird and stuff it into a clay jar, that's not right.

At Bethlehem, our Lord Jesus came down from heaven and stuffed himself into a clay jar. He took upon himself a body, and in that body he was slain. But he arose again, the blood was sprinkled on the other bird, and the bird was turned loose and away he went.

Picture of resurrection. Of course, the great picture of resurrection in the Old Testament is Jonah. Our Lord said this, as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish three days and three nights, even so must the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth.

And that's where the three days come in. He was buried. He arose again the third day according to the scriptures.

What scriptures? Jonah. I was with Dr. J. Vernon McGee in a conference some months ago, and he was teaching Jonah. And in his own inimitable way, he got into the pulpit and he said, a lady came to me and said she didn't like that I was teaching Jonah because there are no women in Jonah.

And Dr. McGee said to her, well, we aren't sure about the whale. Well, this we are sure of, that Jonah is a type of the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus Christ said so.

And when Jonah went down, down, down in three days and three nights, it was death, burial, resurrection. Many Bible students believe Jonah actually died and was raised from the dead. But be that as it may, in type, down into death, up into resurrection after three days and three nights.

And so the Old Testament scriptures give us the picture of the resurrection. In prophecy and in type. One final type, the firstfruits.

We read in 1 Corinthians 15, but now is Christ risen from the dead and has become the firstfruits of them that slept? We who live in the city don't worry about firstfruits. But the Jewish people had harvest festivals. And the day following the Sabbath day after Passover, the priest went out into the field and he cut some of the grain and he waved those sheaves before God in dedication to him.

Now, on my calendar, the day after the Sabbath is the first day of the week. Sabbath day being the seventh day, six days shalt thou labor, the seventh day shalt thou rest. Don't ever call Sunday school Sabbath school unless you meet on Saturday.

Don't ever call Lord's Day services Sabbath services unless you meet on Saturday. It's the Lord's Day. The Sabbath typifies salvation by works.

You work for six days, then you rest. The Lord's Day typifies salvation by grace. You come to him on the first day and then you go out and work.

And the firstfruits were offered to the Lord on the first day of the week, the third day. Now, let's consider the resurrection of Jesus Christ practically, and this is the important part of it. And to make it very easy, we're going to look at one book and one book only.

Turn to the book of Romans, the book of Romans. If there is one book that you want to know and know thoroughly, it's the book of Romans. The book of Romans is the great doctrinal apology of the church.

Book of Romans was not written to tell unsaved people how to get saved. It does that. It was written to tell Christians how they did get saved.

If you understand the book of Romans, you'll understand the work and the plan of God. Now, what is the practical meaning to us today of the resurrection? You believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. You have no problems with it.

But now, what does it mean? It means, first of all, that Jesus Christ is God. Romans 1. Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called an apostle, separated under the gospel of God, which he had promised before by his prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning his son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who was made of the seed of David, according to the flesh, physically, and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the good housekeeping seal of approval that he is God.

Now, for a Jew like Paul to call Jesus Christ Lord, as he does in verse 3, is testimony of our Lord's deity. That word Lord means Jehovah God. You'll notice in verse 1, it's the gospel of God.

In verse 9, it's the gospel of his son. In verse 16, it's the gospel of Christ. Now, if it's the gospel of God and the gospel of his son and the gospel of Christ, I learned in algebra class, things that are equal to the same things are equal to each other.

You can substitute gospel of God, gospel of Christ, gospel of his son, which means Christ is God. How do we know it? The resurrection. That's what Peter preached at Pentecost.

Don't do it now, but when you have some time, read Peter's message at Pentecost and be amazed. He does not preach the cross. He preaches the resurrection.

These Jews knew that Jesus died. Peter doesn't get up and say, Christ died for your sins, according to the scriptures. That is in there.

But his basic message was, he's alive. He's alive. And this proves he is God.

And so the next time a magazine salesman comes to your front door, or someone stops you on the street or in O'Hare Field and says to you, Oh, yes, we believe he's the son of God, but not God. The resurrection comes along and says he is God. That's Romans chapter one.

Now Romans chapter four. Not only is he God, but he is the Savior. Romans chapter four, verses 24 and 25.

Well, verse 23. Now it was not written for his sake alone, that is Abraham's sake, that this righteousness was imputed to him, but for us also. To whom it shall be imputed if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead.

Jesus who was delivered for our offenses and was raised again on account of our justification. Not only is Jesus Christ our Lord and God, but he is our Savior. Now follow this closely.

Paul is not saying that God raised him from the dead that we might be justified. He is saying the fact that we have been justified is proved because he raised him from the dead. Now, what is justification? Justification is the act of God whereby he declares the believing sinner righteous in Christ.

Here is an unbelieving lost sinner who comes and says, I believe in Jesus. I receive him as my Savior. And the instant he does that, God the Father says, I declare you righteous in Christ.

Now, how do we know that justification is true? Because God raised him from the dead. Verse 25, Jesus was delivered on the cross on account of our offenses. Why did he die? Because of our offenses.

Why was he raised from the dead? Because he had accomplished our justification. In other words, the resurrection of Jesus Christ was God's receipt. The next time the devil comes to you and says, you aren't saved, you aren't saved.

Why, the things you say and do. How can you call yourself a justified person? You just say, Satan, go look at the empty tomb. Take a trip to the Holy Land.

Make it a one-way trip. The empty tomb is evidence that God accepted the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. And we are now justified.

That's an encouragement when you have a headache and you're not feeling good. And the devil comes along and throws all kinds of darts at you. Just flee to the empty tomb and say, he's not there.

He's not there. He's up in heaven. That means God has accepted him and I've accepted Christ.

Therefore, God's accepted me. Hallelujah. What a Savior.

Romans chapter 6. Not only is he God and Savior, but he is the sanctifier. Romans 6, 4. Therefore, we are buried with him by baptism into death. This is the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

When you trusted Christ as your Savior, the Holy Spirit baptized you, identified you, made you a part of the body of Christ. That like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. The whole theme of Romans 6 is get out of the graveyard.

You have been buried with Christ. You've been raised to walk in newness of life. He is the sanctifier.

As I said this morning, the Christian life is not imitation. It's incarnation. Christ liveth in me.

That's why in Romans 6, he says, look, yield the members of your body to be instruments of righteousness. When you get up in the morning, give him your body. Say, Lord, you're living within me now.

Take every part of my body, my mind, my will, my heart. Here I am. Take me and live out your life through me.

He won't bypass you. He'll work through your mind and through your heart and through your will and through your body. And we grow together and go together and glow together.

He is the sanctifier because he was raised from the dead. Verse 34 of Romans 8, it gets better. And someone is probably saying, I hope it gets quicker.

Romans 8, 34, the resurrection says he is God. The resurrection says he is the savior, the justifier. The resurrection says he is the sanctifier.

And praise God, the resurrection says he is the intercessor. Romans 8, 34. Who is he that condemneth? There are lots of people who would.

You've been condemned. Did any mother or father ever say to a kid, boy, you sure don't act like a Christian. Or worse, did some kid ever say to mother or dad, man, if you're a Christian, Lots of people could condemn.

The devil could condemn. He's the accuser of the brethren. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died.

Yea, rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. That word also means the Holy Spirit's making intercession. He mentions that back previously.

He's alive. He's in heaven. This is his unfinished work.

Now, his finished work was on the cross. Father, the hour has come. Glorify thou me with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do on the cross. He finished his work. Justification.

Now he's gone back to heaven. He has an unfinished work. What's that intercession? What's intercession mean? He represents you.

He represents you up in heaven. You know, I would feel badly if I were to go down to preach in a rescue mission and have to walk up to somebody whose life has been wrecked by sin and say, Buddy, I've got a great message for you if you can hold out. Now, some people preach that way.

They preach that, boy, you get saved, you trust Christ after you're saved. It's up to you, man. You've got to keep yourself going.

Not according to Romans 834, you've got an intercessor up in heaven. Now, this means two things, and I'll just mention them quickly. Number one, he is our high priest to keep us from sinning.

Boy, when we are tempted and the world, the flesh and the devil assail us, we can come to him and say, I'm coming to the throne of grace. Give me some grace. Give me some mercy.

And he understands and says, here it is. As my high priest, he keeps me from sinning. But suppose I sin.

Then he is my advocate. First John chapter two, my little children, these things right eye unto you that you sin not. But if any man sin, we have an advocate with the father, Jesus Christ, the righteous.

If we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive us our sins. And so he intercedes for you, my friend, to keep you from sinning. But if you do sin to bring you back into fellowship again, that's why nobody can condemn.

The resurrection says you're saved forever. You have an intercessor up in heaven. Romans 14, 9, his resurrection proves that he is Lord, not just God, not just Savior, Lord.

Romans 14, 9, for to this end, Christ both died and rose and revived. That he might be Lord, both of the dead and the living. Verse 11, as I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me and every tongue shall confess to God.

So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. You see, the problem he's writing about here is they were all giving account of each other. The strong Christians were condemning the weak Christians and the weak Christians were criticizing the strong Christians.

And the people who ate pork were laughing at the folks who wouldn't eat pork. The church was divided. Paul says to the whole crowd, now, just a minute, he is Lord.

And if he's Lord of your life, you haven't got time to be judging other people. If he's Lord of your life, you come to him and say, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? Jesus Christ is Lord. And my friend, if you and I won't bow to him today, we will bow to him one day.

We could bow before him today and say, King of my life, I crown thee now. Thine shall the glory be. Be thou the Lord of my life.

And oh, what a difference it makes when he's the Lord of your mind and you have the mind of Christ. When he's the Lord of your tongue and you speak the word of Christ. When he's the Lord of your ears and you hear the voice of Christ.

When he's the Lord of your feet and you walk in the way of Christ. When he's the Lord of your hands and you do the work of Christ. When he is the Lord of your heart and you share the love of Christ, when he is the Lord of your eyes and you see the glory of Christ, it makes all the difference in the world when he is Lord.

But if he isn't Lord, then we bungle through life like blind people walking around not knowing where we are going, and we miss so much. Make him the Lord. Finally, Acts chapter 17.

Just a closing word to our dear unsaved friends who may be here tonight. To those of us who are Christians, the resurrection means he is God, he is Savior and Sanctifier and Intercessor and Lord. In Acts chapter 17, Paul is preaching to the philosophers in Greece.

And he comes to the conclusion of his message in verse 30. And the times of this ignorance God overlooked, but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent. Notice the verb.

He does not suggest. He does not invite. He does not intimate.

He commands. In other words, repentance is something God commands. God commands all people everywhere, repent.

Repent of what? Repent of sin. What sin? The sin of rejecting Christ. My friend, if you have not obeyed that commandment and repented and trusted Jesus Christ, you are a rebel against the King of the universe.

Because, and he gives the reason for it. Why should we repent? Because he has appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained. He has appointed a day.

He has ordained a judge. Oh, how do we know this is going to happen? Concerning which he hath given assurance unto all men in that he hath raised him from the dead. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is God's announcement to a rebellious world.

He is the judge and you had better repent. Can you remember the first evangelist you ever heard preach? I can. In a little church I grew up in, not too far from here, down in northern Indiana, when I was just a little tyke, I guess I was maybe six or seven or eight years old, they had an evangelist.

I'd never heard an evangelist before. I'd heard preachers, but never an evangelist. I can't tell you what he said, except one story that he told.

And I'm sure the Lord used that story some point in my life eventually to bring me to Christ, because it's a good story. He told about a little country town where some horses were connected, were hitched up to a wagon, and in the wagon was a little boy. And some smart aleck came by and whipped up these horses and away they went, and here was a little boy in the wagon.

Of course he was going to be killed, but a man came out and he ran down these horses and he stopped them and saved the boy's life. Years later, this boy became a criminal and he was arrested. He was brought before the judge and found guilty.

And the judge had to give the sentence. And the boy looked up and said, I know you. The judge said, yes, I know you.

The boy said, you know, you're the fellow when I was a little kid. You saved my life. Well, how can you send me to prison? You're the fellow that saved my life.

And the man very quietly answered and said, son, back then I was your Savior. Today I'm your judge. Guilty.

I've never forgotten that story. And you know what's true? Today the Lord Jesus says to you, I'm your Savior. But tomorrow he may say to you, I'm your judge.

He has commanded all men everywhere to repent and to receive Jesus Christ. Father, I pray that here tonight any who have never trusted the Savior will do so. Open hearts to your word and your son.

I pray in Jesus' name and for his sake. Would you keep your heads bound, please, and your eyes closed? Just in this moment of quietness as the Spirit of God speaks to hearts, are there those here tonight who will honestly say, Pastor Wiersbe, I am not saved or I'm not really sure whether I'm saved, but I'd like to be saved. Please pray for me.

Would you just slip your hand up and put it down? We're not going to embarrass you or laugh at you. We're not going to come back and buttonhole you. I want to pray for you.

Just keep it up until I see it and then put it down. Anyone at all? God bless you. Thank you.

Are there some others now? Just pray for me. Here is my hand. I'm not saved or I'm not really sure whether I'm saved, but I want you to pray for me tonight as you close the meeting.

Anyone else? Yes, I see your hand back there. Thank you very much. Someone else? No pressure, just prayer.

Anyone else now? I need Christ as my Savior. Gracious Father, I pray now for these who lifted their hand. You know their needs.

You know their hearts. And I pray that they might come to trust Christ as their Savior, to give their hearts to him. And perhaps others who did not lift their hands might come and give their hearts to Christ.

And so accomplish your will in this invitation time. For Jesus' sake I pray it. Amen.