 1 Corinthians chapter 15 verses 12 through 19 Question is asked What if Jesus were not resurrected and that answer is found in these verses Beginning at verse 12 reading to verse 19 Paul writes now if Christ is preached That he has been raised from the dead How do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there's no resurrection of the dead then Christ is not risen and If Christ is not risen Then our preaching is vain Your faith is also vain. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ Whom he did not raise up if in fact the dead do not rise For if the dead do not rise then Christ is not risen And if Christ is not risen your faith is futile. You are still in your sins Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished If in this life only we have hope in Christ. We are of all men The most pitiable. I was in Germany. I Don't even remember The name of the city now it's been so long many years ago and I was there on a ministry trip with several other Calvary pastors and was given the opportunity to preach a Sunday morning in a German church through a translator we're all translated for me because after all he is German and Anyway, I was gonna tell you a story but We were there and I Chose to teach on the resurrection and there's a reason why because in many of the state churches of Germany The doctrine of resurrection is not taught There's no belief that it's necessary to teach concerning the resurrection There are those who would argue today that the resurrection of Jesus was not a physical literal resurrection But they would argue that it was a spiritual resurrection His body remained in the grave But the substance of his teaching lives on There are some who deny the physical resurrection There are some who would argue hammer and tong that it's not necessary for you to believe that Jesus was raised from the dead To be a genuine believer. Now the question has to be asked Is that what the Bible teaches and what we have here is the answer to that the Bible teaches in a literal physical Resurrection and Paul even go so far as to to give to us six six negatives that are associated With a belief that Jesus did not rise from the dead And so this is a very basic Bible study But it's a very important Bible study because it deals with the resurrection of that we have and it's based on the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ now The last time we were together We concluded our study with Paul as he was revealing his his motives for ministry And he was making it very clear that he served the Lord out of gratitude He served the Lord because God had been very gracious to him and had given him the gift of salvation and So his motivation for serving the Lord was thankfulness and love. That's why in 2nd Corinthians 514 He goes to say The love of Christ compels us now there are those who Who would say when Paul and 2nd Corinthians 514 made that statement there are those who would say That it was Paul's intense love for Christ that motivated him to take the gospel throughout the whole known world And they would argue that it was Paul's love that motivated him to preach the gospel But the more proper view of that isn't that it was Paul's love for Jesus that made him do that It was Jesus's love for Paul that motivated him to preach the gospel the love of Christ Compeled him it was Christ's love in him that motivated him to take this message throughout all the world and he labored He labored as one who was given grace to simply be alive And he labored as one who was grateful because God had made it possible for him to have life in Christ And out of thankfulness he served God and he did so with all of his strength He made it very clear in verse 10 That his grace Toward him was not in vain in other words. God had truly saved him God had filled him with his power God had filled him with his love and He is grateful for that and he goes out and he proclaims that to people I guess we could ask the question of ourselves even as we're about to get into our study and take some details A detail look at this. What is it that motivates? What motivates us to preach the gospel what motivates you what motivates me to share the gospel? What is it that motivates us to do that? I've had discussions over the years with those who believe in in Liberties that they have in Christ all things being lawful to them and They will argue their liberties But I was sharing recently with a group of men that those whom I've known in the past who have argued with me concerning their freedoms in Christ When asked when is the last time you cared enough to share the gospel with somebody very often don't have an answer because they haven't Because the liberties that they have are more important to them Than helping somebody to be free in Jesus Christ from their sin What is it that motivates you and what is it that motivates me? why Do I preach the gospel? Somebody says well because you're prayed to do that you're you're paid to do that you're you're a pastor and that's your job and and there are many people who who actually Work as a harrowing they they receive a wage for doing that and and that is in many ways their motivation Is that my motivation? No, is it yours? Of course not. I don't pay you to preach the gospel Then why do you? Well, the love of Christ, right? The love of Jesus Christ what Jesus has done Motivates you to take the message and share it with other people Why would you do that? Because you were blind and now you see Because you at one time were lost now you found you were dead But now you've been made alive by Jesus Christ You see and so the Lord moved in your life and motivated you and and that's why you do what you do And that's why I do what I do I take this gospel and I share it because of what Christ has done for me Before Paul was saved he was a persecutor of believers and the Bible makes it very clear through his own pen and Testimony concerning him that he was filled with hatred for Christians And he did all that he could to destroy what he considered to be a heretical religious belief When he was writing to Timothy in 1st Timothy chapter 1 verses 12 through 15 Paul said I thank Christ to Jesus our Lord who has given me strength That he considered me faithful Appointing me to his service Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly Along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom he said I am the worst So there was this love of Christ that constrained him God's love That was revealed to him showered on him that motivated him to serve the Lord He recognized his unworthiness But he was thankful he was thankful that God mercifully saved him and his hatred for Jesus Christ was transformed into love and A zeal to preach that was all grounded on the reality of the living savior Jesus Christ But what if Jesus were not truly alive? Now he answers that question. So in the following verses as we get into this Paul lists six negatives that would exist if there were no resurrection and in order to develop that so we can get into it We need to lay a foundation He begins in verse 12 by saying now a Christ is preached that he has been raised from the dead How do some among you say there is no resurrection of the dead? Now Paul reminds them that he has taught them that Jesus was resurrected from the dead He had already pointed that out in the same chapter in verses three and four Remember what he had said I delivered to you first of all that which I also received that Christ died for our sins According to the scriptures and that he was buried and that he rose again the third day according to the scripture So he's already made it very clear that Jesus was resurrected from the dead He had pointed out that he rose again the third day but somehow entering into the congregation and our denying physical resurrection and these who have crept in and Do not believe in the physical resurrection begin to influence as they normally do they begin to influence some of the Corinthians and And they're beginning to undermine the teaching that the Apostle Paul has been given to them concerning resurrection We need to remember something how could that happen? Well the Corinthians lived in a region that was permeated with philosophy and religions there were those at that time who spoke concerning the soul and and and they said that there is There is no continuation of the soul. There's a total annihilation There were others who were preaching at that time that there was something of a reincarnation And there were some some mystical Greeks who were believing that your soul was actually absorbed into the divine being and so there were a lot of things that were going on at that time that were being taught Some taught what is called dualism that the spirit was good and matter is evil So to them the idea of a resurrection of a body was repugnant because they believed that the afterlife was an escape from the material And so that kind of thinking had begun influencing believers in Corinth that's because the church often is influenced by philosophies and influences of the world and So this had started to seep in Paul has to deal with that as he's writing to the Corinthians They had been influenced to believe Jesus was resurrected But they would not be So Paul makes it clear that the body and the spirit are redeemed because redemption is for the whole person In Romans chapter 8 verse 11 It says if the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his spirit who lives in you and Romans 8 23 he says we who have the first fruits of the spirit grown inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons the redemption of our bodies and So Paul is teaching resurrection Now resurrection is a revelation that is found both in the old and the new testaments It's not clearly revealed in the Old Testament, but it is referred to several times You can see the book of Job for example chapter 19 verse 26 Where it reads after my skin is destroyed this I know that in my flesh. I shall see God The psalmist in Psalm 17 verse 15 says as for me, I will behold your face in righteousness I shall be satisfied when I awake with your likeness The book of Daniel chapter 12 verse 2 many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake some to everlasting life And some to shame and everlasting contempt So you see references in the Old Testament concerning Resurrection the New Testament quite obviously Jesus taught resurrection you can see that throughout the New Testament I don't want to give to you too many scriptures, but I'll give you a few Jesus taught it in John chapter 5 verses 28 and 29 when he said marvel not at this for the hour is coming in Which all who are in the graves shall hear his voice shall come forth those who have done good to the resurrection of life Those who have done evil to the resurrection of damnation John 644 no man can come to me except the father who has sent me draws him And I will raise him up at the last day John 11 25 when Jesus is speaking to Martha says I am the resurrection and the life He who believes in me though he were dead yet shall he live so resurrection is clearly given to us in the New Testament It's alluded to and spoken of in the old and so Paul had been speaking concerning resurrection And he had made it very clear, but infiltrators are now influencing the church and as the world normally does There are those who are becoming confused by the things that they're hearing So he says to them in verses 12 and 13 if Christ has preached that he has been raised from the dead How do some among you say that there's no resurrection of the dead? but if there's no resurrection of the dead then Christ is not risen and So some are saying there's no resurrection of the dead He said this this doesn't make sense Because they believe that Jesus was resurrected. So that leaves one thing if there's no resurrection of the dead Jesus must still be dead Well, what would be the result if Jesus were just a dead teacher? Everything that you believe as a Christian hinges on one thing Was Jesus raised from the dead see us Lewis said it well When he spoke of Jesus as being either either a lunatic or a liar a lunatic in that he taught so very often that That he would be resurrected and if resurrection didn't happen Then he'd be crazy be a liar because he was preaching that there's a resurrection He taught resurrection. He stated that he would be resurrected and because he lives we would live also and So either he's a lunatic or he's a liar or he's the Lord and That's basically your options. Did Jesus indeed teach that he would be resurrected and that we also would be resurrected And was he indeed and in fact was he raised from the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, Jesus is still dead But what would be the result? Well, he says in verse 14 if Christ is not risen then our preaching is vain Our preaching is futile if Christ is still dead Then the message of the cross and the message of resurrection is futile and worthless Because there's nothing worth preaching. There's no heavenly hope for us That philosopher and religious genius John Lennon would be right Imagine there's no heaven. It's easy if you try know how below us above us only sky So he'd be right, wouldn't he but Jesus taught that there's resurrection He taught that there's hope and and because he raised from the dead We have hope that we too will one day see him face to face That's why in John 14 1 through 3 he had say let not your heart be troubled You believe in God believe also in me in my father's house or many mansions if it were not so I would have told you I go and prepare a place for you and if I go and prepare a place for you I will come again receive you unto myself that where I am there you may be also and So Jesus gives us the hope and he taught us that that there is such a thing as resurrection and and and we can trust in him And therefore if he were not resurrected then our preaching would be futile and he says that's a negative Secondly, he said if Christ is not risen then our preaching is vain in your faith is also vain Your faith would be empty and worthless too because a dead savior cannot give life or reward for faithfulness So your faith is useless The psalmist in Psalm 73 13 says surely in vain have I kept my heart pure in vain? Have I washed my hands in innocence Isaiah 49 4 says but I said I have labored to no purpose I've spent my strength in vain and for nothing yet what is do me is in the Lord's hand My reward is with my God if Christ is not risen then our faith Makes no sense at all Why have faith in somebody's lies? It makes no sense He goes on in verse 15 and says yes We are found false witnesses of God because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ whom he did not raise up If in fact the dead do not rise for if the dead do not rise then Christ is not risen So a third result would be that the apostles would be liars because Jesus is still dead We should not in any way be admired or respected or believed because we're simply lying The witnesses referred to earlier would all be simply liars willful deceivers of the innocent So he's saying we who are apostles who are preaching that he has been resurrected and that there is a resurrection Would be found false witnesses of God Why we have testified of God that he raised up Christ whom if the dead aren't raised Then we absolutely are just in error and we are liars So when you go and speak to somebody and you share with them About the hope of future that we have in Christ and and you speak to them and share with them that there's a joy That's beyond this moment that they're going through There is something great in doing that and it's not a false hope that you're given to people I've been at the bedside of of more than one person as a minister I remember this one woman who died of lung cancer She was a smoker for all of her young life into her older age and she died lung cancer and I remember standing next to her bed as she was She was in the verge of dying and I remember sharing John 14 She was a believer in Christ He's gone to prepare a place for you And if he's gone and prepared a place for you, he'll come again and receive you unto himself then where he is you may be also and You give him hope. I stood at the graves at the bedside of my uncle who was dying of cancer and This is a man who when I was growing up was he was a big and he was a strong man to me He was big and strong as I grew older I came to realize he wasn't as big as I thought but he certainly was strong my uncle Ray and There I was it in the hospital room With him and my aunt his wife my aunt Billy Said to me because he hadn't awakened. He had been slipping into a coma She speaks to me and she says to me she says mijo. She says speak to your uncle and She said talk to him like a Rosales Now when she said that that made me laugh because my family is loud You know Rosales Rosales can be loud We just are and when she said that it made me laugh because she was simply saying just talk to him raise your voice son and So I remember standing next to my uncle Ray and I said the same thing John chapter 14 my uncle Hadn't been out of this coma. He'd been he hadn't awakened or shown any sign of awareness Until I put my hand on his shoulder that night and I touched his shoulder and I said to him uncle Ray It's your nephew David. I said I'm here to pray for you And then he awakened for just a moment as I remember and he said pray and he was slipped back And I remember laying my hand on him and I said, you know, uncle Ray Jesus has gone to prepare a place for you the same scriptures that I've given it many many Bed sites that promise I'm not lying to these people who are about to die I laid my hands on my own father when he was dying and said the same thing to him Jesus is preparing a place for you daddy that you will be with him That's not a lie. Is it it's the truth. It's what gives us hope It's what strengthen us and Paul is saying here very simply He's saying if if the dead don't rise then we are liars and you shouldn't listen to us if indeed they don't rise from the dead and He says we are found false witnesses not only that in verse 17 He goes and if Christ is not risen your faith is futile. You are still in your sins All men would still be in their sins that would include the Corinthians That would include those who are trusting in Christ for forgiveness of sins Because if he is not risen the consequence is not that death ends life The consequence is they're still in their sinful condition. There's no hope for them When the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross was buried. He took upon himself our sins When he was raised from the dead he was raised for our justification So the fact that Jesus Christ took upon himself our sins and was raised from the dead Demonstrates that he has the power to bear our sins away from us as the as the Lamb of God To take away the sin of the world and is capable of causing us to stand before God and be declared not guilty And so I rest my hope not on Just some vague promises. I I rest my hope my faith is not in vain I rest my hope on a fact of the resurrection of Jesus Christ that Jesus Christ who died was raised the third day Which justifies all of his statements concerning his teaching and I can trust in him and believe in him because what he has said is true And so as a believer I can say the the the one whom I have trusted has told me the truth and demonstrated the truthfulness of his statements by raising from the dead in Verse 18 he says then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished So there's a fifth consequence the dead have perished forever with no true hope Their destiny would be eternal damn nation. There would be no hope They've cried they've died even though they profess faith in Christ, but there's no salvation for them The wages of sin the scripture says is death and it's appointed unto men to die once and after this the judgment Paul says in 1st Thessalonians 4 13 and 14 Brothers we do not want you to be ignorant about those who have fallen asleep or to grieve like the rest of men who have no hope We believe that Jesus died and rose again And so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him There is grief when someone dies. There's no doubt about that You've lost friends and loved ones You've had people that you cared about and you've seen them die And if you had no faith in Christ, and they didn't have a relationship with God Then that's the most painful thing that you can do. I had a cousin whose name was Richie Richie was very dear to me. He was a few years older than me and Richie grew up in Venice and in the fifties early sixties Richie had gotten into the gangster lifestyle and on an occasion he had gotten in a fight with some guys and somebody took out a two by four and hit him in the head and split his skull open and Richie was hospitalized. I Still remember after he recovered and came out of that hospital I still remember seeing him his head was shaved. He's the where his head shaved even back then and There was a big scar that went across from his temple all the way to the back From where his head had been split open with that two by four Richie thought that the gang life was a good life and Richie thought that heroin was a wonderful wonderful thing to be addicted to and He became a heroin addict at a very early age And he lived as a heroin addict until they found him dead in a field of an overdose They had to have a closed casket with my cousin Richie Because he'd been in the field for a few days and some aunts had discovered him and used him as a meal and So my beautiful cousin whom I loved so much Became addicted to heroin Ended up dying laying in a field for a few days I was 12 or 13 years old at that time It's the first funeral that I remember going to Where my aunt whom I loved with all of my heart my aunt Tilly who later on gave her heart to Christ But at that time hadn't and how they had that casket there next to the open grave the family was there and How my aunt had I believe she had seven children six daughters and one son and I remember her jumping on that casket and Screaming at the top of her lungs as my uncle's had a peeler off the casket And she was crying Richie Richie I've seen more than one some of you. I've seen more than one instant just like that the pain and the sorrow Where somebody is so incapable of handling the death of somebody that they that they love that They get drunk at the funeral and then stumble around during the services. They're so drunk. I've seen that I've seen it when people have come and knelt in the front of the church and held on to the casket and People have had to come and take them away because they're loaded on reds I've seen a lot of that as I was growing up and growing up older I've seen these people die I've seen what happens when you die without hope the first funeral I ever performed as a young man about 29 or 30 years of age The first funeral I ever performed was for a man who was a child molester. He molested his own daughter and his The people who came to his funeral. I had heard the term at that point I had never seen it with my own eyes, but I'd heard the term of they used to call the prostitutes ladies in red and I remember Doing my first funeral looking out at a group of about 50 or 60 people and it was almost like I was I Was looking at a live version of some of these old movies were the people who were there were they were racetrack gamblers and Prostitutes and the women's hair was where platinum blonde died with real bright red Ruby lips and and I'm out there giving a message of the gospel To all of these people that haven't got a clue the man was a child molester and The people who are there at this funeral Don't even have an idea of what hope is and and I thought at that time that that was unusual but I'm seeing more and more Funerals like that because more and more people are dying without hope and When people die without hope and when people attend funerals that have no hope Where you have people say things like well, yeah He was a big-time gambler here and in heaven right now. He's playing craps and all of this when you hear that kind of thing Yeah, they're partying right now, you know, you know if he's in if he's in hell right now It's because he's with all of his friends and they're all drinking right now I've heard those things and there are people who actually believe that Like there's a giant lot party going on in hell. They've been so deceived they've been so lied to and It's very difficult to communicate to people on that level They just don't get it in an age in our age in 2013 When the only thing necessary for you to go to heaven according to our society today is to simply die Because everybody goes it is very difficult To awaken people to the fact that their sin has made a separation between them and their God It's very difficult for them to accept what the scripture says when the Bible says the wages of sin is Death that it is appointed unto men to die once and after this judgment because there's so many who believe in second third chances reincarnation and and Soul travel and there's so many different ways that people are believing today Apollos making it very clear. There's a resurrection The resurrection of the dead is based on the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ Those who believe in Jesus Christ will be raised from the dead And it's not because simply they were good people But it's because Jesus was God in the flesh who died and paved the way for us and his resurrection ensures us that we can have life in him and yes You know my father dies my father-in-law dies those I have friends and loved ones who have died and yes I grieve, you know, there was there was a time When and when the grief was so great that I could hardly come to the pulpit without without tears in my eyes Because I'd lost friends. I've lost my dad I've lost my father-in-law and and there were some who who didn't understand that and and and during the periods where I had such Pain there were many I have to be honest with you who couldn't handle it and they left to go someplace where there's more joy But the fact of the matter is is life can be difficult sometimes But we do not grieve as those who have no hope. I Didn't lose my dad. I didn't lose my father-in-law Because when you lose something, you don't know where it is. I Never lost them. I know exactly where they are See, I know what gives me that hope Jesus's resurrection The resurrection of Jesus Christ ensures me that one of these days I will be resurrected to He says in verse 19 if in this life only we have hope in Christ We are of all men the most pitiable If if If this faith that we're preaching is Just a myth Then the things that we're enduring Well, it's ridiculous for us to go through these things We ought to be eating and drinking and making merry just partying our lives away There's no persecution for the ones who flow along with the the stream of the the current ideologies. I mean If you want to you want to avoid persecution all you need to do is agree with everybody It's all you need to do They say this just agree with them. They'll be your friend for life They're not going to persecute you just agree with them but If you're anything like me I'm not able to agree with everything There was a time when I tried and I thought I come off so harsh and so judgmental just shut up and My mom could tell you this were she here. She could tell you this She's seen this happen Where I would be sitting down and someone would be saying something that's not biblical That's wrong She would see it happen my body shakes Literally does she would see me start into moop and she'd go. Oh, oh Something's gonna happen. That's not true This is what the word of God says she saw me do that before I was pastor in a church She saw me doing that when I was 22 and 23 years old Because when I heard something that was not lining up with God's word Then it needs to be responded to but the problem is is that doesn't make you the most popular person in the house People will get upset at you Why why do you take things so seriously? Can't you live and let live? Why do you ruin it? Why do you make them feel so bad? I could remember my mom trying to put a you know a stop to me talking one time My aunt showed up my aunt we used to call her the nun I mean she was real rigid real real rigid Catholic woman color Lamon has what we call it the nun and she came over and As she was there She says so David What's new and I just gotten saved I Said what's new? I said I'm born again, man. I gave my heart to Jesus Christ I've become a Christian and my mom's wanting to kick me under the table shut up shut up You're gonna start up a war and my aunt goes we're all Christians and I said no, we're not my mom That's enough. That's enough. I was a brand-new Christian, but I'll take you on nun It's the truth It's the truth. I hope this doesn't offend anybody and take another step When I first got saved I got a letter from the local church that I used to attend I was raised in Norwalk and went to St. Pius the 10th church in Santa Fe Springs. I Was now 20 years old and had just given my heart to Christ I wasn't more than two weeks old in Jesus and I got a letter David Rosales from St. Pius the 10th church How nice they're writing me Open it up and I still remember the letter because it began Dear David, this is a letter from your church And we would like you to give a gift to your church and they wanted me to send him some money. I didn't have a job So I wrote them back and I still remember some of the things I wrote Because I was somebody who wrote very early you might pick that up the way I do things 20 years old I wrote him a letter. I said it's interesting to me That you're writing me a letter I'm saying that you want me to give something to my church. I Said when I haven't been in my church for eight years. I Haven't been there since I was 12 or 13 And now you're writing me a letter and you're asking me to give you a gift. I Said let me let me tell you something and I said I'm gonna give you something you didn't give to me I'm gonna give you the gospel and I wrote the gospel out Jesus and I told him about Jesus died for my sins. He was resurrected the third day I believe in him and I can't have eternal life I said I'm giving to you a message that you never gave to me in the years that I sat in those pews So if you want a gift the best gift that you can ever have is the gift of eternal life that comes through faith And the Lord Jesus Christ who forgives you of all your sins cleanses you and gives you a hope for the future I was already speaking like I am right now 42 years ago because that's the gospel of Jesus Christ and that's the hope that we have It comes through him. That's the only way if you're gonna clap really clap. I mean that There you go, or I'll write you a letter too In Luke chapter 12 verses 16 through 21 Luke records how Jesus told them this parable the ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop He thought to himself what shall I do? I have no place to store my crops Then he said this is what I'll do I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones and there I will store all my grain and my goods and I'll say to myself you have plenty of good things laid up for many years Take life easy eat drink be merry, but God said to him you fool This very night your life will be demanded from you Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself? This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself, but it's not rich toward God If Jesus Christ remained in the grave and was not Resurrected then we should be most pitied because we are the off scouring because people do not like the message that we preach And they take it out on us The Christian life is in an easy life those who would say to you that it is I'm telling you the truth The Christian life is a difficult one, isn't it? any Dead fish can float downstream But it takes a living one to go against the current and the current that we go against is the current of popular philosophy common culture and When you stand up and you don't have to be by the way a theologian like I shared I was sharing the little that God gave to me from the first few weeks that I got saved You don't have to be an established theologian. You just need to know what you believe And you need to be correct in the things that you share, but it does not take a Masters of divinity To be able to share with somebody the goodness of God It does take an experience with God in his salvation It does take a love for his word It does take having solid foundations of fellowship with friends who can encourage you It does take being taught the word of God and it does take prayer and devotion But it especially takes a willingness To stand up and be counted to speak when nobody else will and to be willing to share what is true and Yes You will be persecuted those who shall live godly in Christ. Jesus shall suffer persecution It's one of the promises Jesus made when he said ye shall be hated by all men for my name's sake But guess what you're not going to be liked by everybody anyway So why don't we just make a decision that we're going to be loved by the one whose love really matters Because the one whose love really matters is Jesus himself Now thank God that we have brothers and sisters who love us. I I so appreciate it I do and I get letters every once in a while that are such encouragements and I love it But at the same time What really keeps me going is that desire to hear Jesus say well done I want him to say my good in my faithful servant I want to hear him say entering to the joy of the Lord that's been prepared for you from the foundation of the world Now that is what I want to hear And so my mother and father can't forsake me But God will lift me up and so Paul is saying listen if Jesus were not resurrected You could pity us the most because look at what we've gone through look at the persecutions We've endured we've lost so much and yet we've gained everything We're just passing through The world is not our home We're gonna be there some day seeing him face-to-face and it's all based on Whether or not he was raised from the dead was he raised from the dead the Bible answer is Absolutely all gospel preaching is centered on one thing the resurrection of Jesus Christ was he raised? Absolutely, are we going to be raised with him? Yes, and where will we dwell in glory with him and how long will that be forever and ever and ever and ever Amen