I knew when I stood up, I'd see
a bunch of smiles. Oh, that's so good. All right,
if you would open your Bibles with me to Philippians chapter
three. I titled the message this morning,
The Power of His Resurrection. There are two verses in our text,
beginning in Philippians three, verse 10. That I may know him and the power
of his resurrection and a fellowship of his sufferings be made conformable
unto his death. If by any means I might attain
unto the resurrection of the dead. Now we know that Paul is
a believer here. He's someone who knows Christ.
So why is he saying here that I may know him? What Paul is
saying is I want to know more of Christ. I want to experience
what I know. in my heart. That's what he's
saying. I want to experience this vital union with Christ. The word no, he uses here, the
Greek word no, it means to know, to perceive, to understand. When
the Jews talked about the relationship between a husband and a wife,
how they're one flesh, this is the word they would use. The
husband would know his wife. And Paul is saying, I want to
have this union with Christ. I want to know him so well because
we're one. I tell you why that is so important
to have this union with Christ. I'm one with Christ. If I'm one
with Christ, I did everything the Lord Jesus did as he was
a man on earth under the law. I did all those things. I obeyed
God's law perfectly. I established righteousness.
I've already died to sin and died to justice. because I was
in Christ when he did them. Now I know those things doctrinally. I want to experience that. I
want to experience the joy of that. And every believer will
amen what the apostle said there. I want to know Christ, don't
you? I don't want to just know about
Christ. I want to know him. I want to be joined to him so
that I am what he is. And that's what Paul is talking
about in these two verses. You know, when he says, I want
to know the fellowship of Christ's suffering, you know, he's not
saying I want to suffer like Christ did. Nobody in their right
mind wants to suffer like that. Now, a believer would be happy
to suffer hatred and ridicule for Christ's sake. I'd be happy
to suffer that way because I believe Christ and I won't compromise
him. But Paul's not even talking about
that here. What he means is I want to know, I want to perceive this,
that when Christ suffered for my sin, I want to know this,
that I suffered in him because he's my representative. Everybody
knows that Christ died. I mean, the whole world knows
Jesus of Nazareth died on a cross. Well, I know that. I want to
perceive this and experience it in my heart that when he died,
he died for me. I want to be made conformable
in Christ's death in this way. I want to have all the benefits,
all the blessings of Christ's suffering and death, because
when he died, I died in him. Now what benefits is Paul talking
about? What benefits is there to Christ's death for his people?
I thought of several, there's many, but I'll just list a few.
First, there's righteousness. Right? Perfect righteousness
because of Christ's death for the sin of his people, God's
elect are made the righteousness of God in him. He took the sin
of his people away from them and he gave them his righteousness.
And that righteousness is so important. I can't stand before
God without it. I must be righteous for God to
accept me. So I strongly desire to be made
righteous because of Christ's death for my sin. And I don't
want that just to be a doctrinal point that I argue with folks
about. You know, what is righteousness?
When were you made righteous? I don't wanna argue about that. You know what I wanna do? I wanna
enjoy it. I want to enjoy the righteousness
of Christ, that he is my righteousness. And I'll tell you how I enjoy
it. If I've been made righteous in Christ, I can live without
fear of death. without fear of judgment after
death, because Christ is my righteousness. The second blessing I thought
of is justification, being made without sin. Listen to two verses,
Romans 5 verse 9. Being now justified by his blood,
we shall be saved from wrath through him. We're saved from
wrath because he suffered wrath for us. Romans 8, 33. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It's God that justifies it. Now
again, I don't want this matter of justification to be something
I argue about, something that just makes you miserable because
you're arguing with somebody about it all the time. I want to enjoy
it. I want to enjoy some comfort
of heart, some assurance of heart, confidence in knowing this, I
cannot be charged with sin because Christ was charged for me. I
cannot be condemned for my sin because Christ, my substitute,
was already condemned for me. Now I want to live enjoying that,
I want to know that and experience in my heart and enjoy it. The
third blessing I thought of is sanctification. Sanctification
is being made perfectly holy, a nature that cannot sin. Well
that comes from the death of Christ. Listen to Hebrews 10
verse 10. For we're sanctified, how? Through
the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. because of his sacrifice, he
made his people holy. And that's important because
scripture says, without this holiness, no man shall see the
Lord. Now I want to know this. I don't
want to just know what holiness is and the technicalities of
how it was accomplished. I want to know that I made holy
in Christ my holiness, that he made me holy. I want to enjoy
that. There ought to be a sense of
calm that I can enjoy. If the father sees me as holy,
there ought to be a sense of calm about that. I want to enjoy
rejoicing in Christ Jesus who's made me holy. I look at myself. I don't see one holy thing about
me. I don't see one holy. I've never, I can safely make
this statement. I've never done a holy thing
yet. This is also true. I can rejoice
in Christ Jesus who's made me holy. and fear no condemnation
for my sin. I want to enjoy that. I want
to experience that for me and for you. And then Paul says, I want to
know the power of his resurrection. Now what is that? It sounds kind
of mysterious though. What does that mean, the power of his resurrection?
Well, the resurrection of Christ is very, very important. It's
vital to the gospel. It's so vital to the gospel,
we have no good news to tell. if Christ is not raised from
the dead. But he is raised from the dead. And since Christ was
raised from the dead, this is what we know because of his resurrection,
that he accomplished everything he set out to do when he was
crucified for the sin of his people. Now, there can't be any
salvation. There can be no putting away
of sin unless Christ was raised from the dead. Well, since Christ
is raised from the dead, we know the sin of his people is gone
and their salvation is sure and certain. He bought it for us. He put it in the hearts of his
people and we can't lose it because of our sin. It's sure and certain
because of his resurrection. Now Paul is saying here, now
I want to experience that same power that raised Christ from
the dead. I want to experience that power
in my heart. I want to be given spiritual
life in the new birth. And if I'm given spiritual life
in the new birth, I'll tell you what, it's going to take the
same power that raised Christ from the dead. to cause me to
be born again, to cause a new nature to be born in me. I want to experience that. I
don't want to just know about the resurrection of Christ and
know, you know, the technicalities of the new birth that happens
through the preaching of the word and God, the Holy Spirit
gives it. He moves where he listeth, just
like the wind bloweth where it listeth. I don't want to just
know all those things. I want to experience that power
in my heart. God's given me new life in the
new birth. I want to experience these benefits
of Christ's resurrection from the dead. Now what are those? What are these benefits of Christ's
resurrection from the dead? I want to know the power of it.
I want to experience the power of it. Let me give you six blessings
I found in the Word of God. Number one is this. Every believer
can take these things. You take these things home with
you. You put them in your lunch bucket and take them to work
with you tomorrow. You take them everywhere you go and rejoice
in these things, find blessings and comfort for your heart in
this. Since Christ arose, redemption is finished for me, for me. Colossians 1 verse 14, in whom
we have redemption through his blood. We have redemption, even
the forgiveness of sins. Galatians 3 13 says, Christ hath
redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for
us. Now the resurrection of Christ,
the Father made Him to be sin for us. And He died for that
sin. Well the resurrection of Christ
is the proof that His blood put away the sin of His people. That
it paid the redemption price and all of His people are redeemed
from all of their sin. by the death of Christ. He took
away the curse of the law. He took away the curse of sin
from his people forever. So if you trust in Christ alone,
your sins forgiven, your sin has been put away. If you trust
in Christ alone, you are redeemed from the curse of the law and
you can never be condemned. You know why you can never be
condemned? There's no sin to condemn you. Christ took it away. It's impossible for you to be
condemned. Now think on that. We know those things are doctrinally
true. But think on the wonder of that. And live your life enjoying that
blessing. When Christ cried from the cross,
it is finished. You know, that means something.
That means there's no more work of redemption left to do. It's
all complete. Now enjoy. If you believe Christ,
enjoy being free from the burden of the law. Don't allow yourself
to be put back under the burden of the law and say, well, you
know, if you're a believer, you gotta do this, you gotta do that. You're
free. Christ has made you free from
the burden of the law. Enjoy being free from worrying
about judgment. I hate it when, when, Preachers
put this on people. Well, you know, Christ has paid
for your sin, but you're still going to be judged and all your
sins will be broadcast on the big screen for all the world
to see. Won't you be embarrassed? No, sir. No. There's no sin left. There's no charge can be brought
against you. The resurrection of Christ is proof positive.
He put the sin of his people away. Whatever sin was laid on
him is gone. His resurrection proved it. The
Father never would have raised Him from the dead again. I want to experience that in my
heart. So I live without fear, without worry of the future and
judgment and death and all these things. Christ took the sting
of it away. He put the sin of it away. Oh,
redemption's finished. Well, if it's finished, quit
trying to finish it. If it's finished, just quit trying
to finish it. and enjoy resting in Christ. All right, number
two. Since Christ arose, I have the
evidence that I'm justified. Now, like I said a minute ago,
justified means being made without sin. No sin whatsoever. Now,
when I look at myself, I see absolutely no evidence of that
whatsoever. Absolutely none. When I look
at myself, all I see is sin. But we don't look to ourselves
to find the evidence of justification, because we're never going to
find it there. If you want the evidence of justification, I'll
tell you what to do. Look to Christ. Look to the resurrected
Savior. Look to Him by faith. When I
see Christ, that's all the evidence that I need to see I'm justified
before God. Romans 4.25. who was delivered
for our offenses. Our offenses, our sins were laid
on him. He was delivered to condemnation and death because of our offenses.
And he was raised again for our justification. He was raised
again, not for our justification exactly, but he was raised again
as proof. He justified his people by his
sacrifice for their sin. The Lord Jesus Christ bore all
of the sin, all of it, of all of his people on the tree. He
was made sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made
the righteousness of God in him. That's what scripture says, why
Christ died on the tree. Well, how do you know he got
the job done? How do you know he put away the
sin of his people? How do you know he made them the righteousness
of God in him? His resurrection. It's his resurrection. The father never would have raised
the son from the grave of all the sin that was laid on him
was still there. But since he put it away by the blood of his
sacrifice, the father raised him from the dead. The sin of
his people is gone. Now I want to know the power
of that. I want to know and experience this, the power of Christ's blood
to put away my sin. I know, I know the doctrine of
it now. His blood put away all of the
sin of all of his people. But I tell you what I'm acutely
interested in. The power of his blood put away my sin. Am I included
in that? Could that possibly be? I want
to know the power of his blood to justify me, to make me without
sin before God. Now I'm going to live hating
my sin. I'm going to live hating it, but I'm also not going to
live in fear of it because I know I've experienced the power of
Christ's blood to put my sin away. Thirdly, look over here
at Hebrews 9. Hebrews 9. Since Christ arose,
this is what I know. The penalty of my sin has been
paid in full. Hebrews 9 verse 11. But Christ,
being come a high priest of good things to come, by greater and
more perfect tabernacle, Not made with hands, that is to say,
not of this building, neither by the blood of goats and calves,
but by his own blood. He entered in once into the holy
place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. Now the Lord
Jesus Christ came and did what no animal sacrifice offered ever
did. Christ came and did what all
those ceremonies of the law could never do. He paid the price for
sin. And animal blood can't pay for
our sin, can it? Different blood, different nature.
But Christ came in our nature, in our flesh, and by his sacrifice,
he paid the price of sin for his people. If Christ shed his blood to pay
a debt, this is what I know, the debt's paid. I mean, this
is the blood of God's Son. How precious is it? It's the
only pure blood, sinless blood ever been on the face of the
earth, if he shed his blood doctrinally, I know this is true, the debt's
paid. I know that. But here's what
I want to know. I want to know what paid my debt.
I want to experience that in my heart. And I want to live
free from the burden of the guilt of sin. That's a big statement. I hope
I'm saying that right. We ought to hate our sin, and
I would feel guilty if my sin caused someone suffering in those
things, but now listen. If we believe that Christ died
for us, for me, and He rose again for me, I don't have this burden
of guilt of sin. I would feel very sorry and guilty
if my sin hurt you, but I don't come with this Guilt before God,
like, ugh. I'm not constantly trying to
do some good deed to kind of balance the scales for my evil.
I've done this evil, I better do some good to at least try
to balance the scales. I want to live free from that. By God's grace, Janet and I are
able to pay our bills. It's just very important to me
we pay our bills on time. So you know one thing I never
worry about? Ever. I don't worry about a bill collector
because they're all paid. I want to know this, what Paul's
talking about. Experience this in my heart. I'm not living in
fear of a spiritual bill collector coming and taking something away
from me or punishing me somehow in this life to make me pay for
my sin. Christ paid the debt. Quit being
afraid of it. Quit being, there is no debt.
Christ paid it. I want to live enjoying that
freedom from worry, don't you? I want to enjoy the freedom that
that dad can put on you and just trust Christ. That's the only
only way you can have that freedom is by enjoying trusting Christ.
And then I'll serve him out of love, not because I'm trying
to balance the scales, but I'll serve him out of love. All right,
here's the fourth thing. Since Christ arose, I have the
new birth. Now, the new birth is vital,
vital to salvation. It's so vital, there's no salvation
without the new birth. Unless there's a new, holy, righteous
nature born in us, there is no salvation. I think I mentioned
this Wednesday night. I just utterly despise this,
that people, for whatever reason, I don't know if he's listed third
when we mentioned the Holy Trinity, The work of the Holy Spirit is
just not as important, you know. Well, a man was arguing with
me about that one day. I said, well, I'll tell you what.
You try to awaken Christ's likeness and glory without it. It's impossible. The father, he elected a people
into salvation, but election by itself is not salvation. Christ
the son died. He shed his blood to redeem a
people, put their sin away. But the sacrifice of Christ alone,
by itself, is not enough to redeem. The Holy Spirit must apply the
blood of Christ to our hearts. That's the new birth. When he
applies the blood of Christ to our hearts, that's the new birth.
The salvation of a sinner requires the work of all three persons
of the Godhead. If a genuine sinner is gonna
be saved, the Father has to elect him. He has to choose to save
him, doesn't he? Because we'd never choose God if he didn't
choose us first. God the Son must pay the sin debt for those
people because we can't pay it. He's the only one who can. If
we would be saved, Christ must pay our sin debt. And thirdly,
God the Holy Spirit must apply that blood. He must give us life,
spiritual life. He must give us faith in Christ
or we'll never be saved. See, the salvation of a real
sinner, a dead sinner, requires all three, doesn't it? Well,
since Christ arose, the regeneration The new birth for God's elect
is guaranteed because now the spirit has blood to apply. And since Christ arose, he also
has life to apply. Look at first Peter chapter one. And like I said earlier, that
life, that new life is given by the same power that it took
to raise Christ from the dead. 1 Peter 1 verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy
hath begotten us again, caused us to be born again unto a lively
hope, a living hope, how? By the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead. That's how it's given. Now I
know the doctrine of the new birth. I can hardly remember a time
in my life not knowing the doctrine of the new birth. But I want
to experience it. Don't you? I want to experience
the power of it in me when God the Holy Spirit gives me spiritual
life. So that I believe Christ. So
I enjoy resting in Him. So I enjoy hearing the gospel
preached. So that I have both the desire
and the enjoyment to come before our Father in prayer. Experience
that in me. In every believer, there's two
natures, an old man and new man. And my old man, that nature of
sin that I received, I was conceived in the womb. That old man gives
me trouble, gives me heartache. I feel his presence every day. Don't you? You just feel the
presence of that old man. He's dead, he's stinking, he's
filthy, he's trying to bring you back into captivity to the
law. I feel his presence all the time. Well, if I've got a new man in
me, I want to feel and enjoy his presence too. The presence
of the new man. It's not just that God gives
life and faith in Christ in the new birth. I want to enjoy it.
We ought to enjoy believing Christ. We ought to enjoy trusting Him.
We ought to enjoy, He's given me life, spiritual life, so I
understand the gospel. I believe, I really do, I believe
Him. I can't explain that, we just sung that. I don't know
how that happened, when it happened, but I know I do. I enjoy that. I have to live in this body of
sin. No choice. But I want to enjoy
seeing Christ by faith. I want to enjoy trusting Him.
I want to enjoy the presence of Christ in this life until
I go home and be with Him face to face. Isn't that a blessing
to be able to enjoy that now? That you can enjoy hearing the
gospel preached. That you can worship Him. That
another sinful man can get up here and read the Scripture and
expound the Scriptures and you can see Christ and you can worship. Isn't that a blessing? I want
to live enjoying that. All right, here's the fifth thing.
Look at 1 Corinthians 6. Since Christ arose, I walk in
newness of life right now. 1 Corinthians 6, verse 9. Know ye not that the unrighteous
should not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters,
nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with
mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers,
nor extortioners shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such
were some of you. Such were some of you. But you're
washed, but you're sanctified, but you're justified in the name
of the Lord Jesus and by the spirit of our God. Now, have
you ever I've been working a hot, dirty job. I told you about this
holly bush I was cutting up yesterday. And boy, I tell you, after an
hour of that, I was taking a break. And I told Jan, I said, what'd
them men down there at that mill do, working that hot? They couldn't
take a break every 15 minutes like I'm doing. You're working
a hot, dirty job. You just work till you get the
job done or work till your shift is up. And then you go take a
shower. You get all clean, you get that
filth and that sweat and that grime off of you. You put on
some clean, fresh clothes. It just feels so much better,
doesn't it? That is exactly what a believer
enjoys spiritually. We've been washed. We've been
washed in the blood of Christ. We've been washed from all of
our filth. The filth and grime of our sin. The awfulness of it. And we've
been dressed in His spotless robe of righteousness. That's the doctrine, I know.
I mean, I know that. But I want to experience that.
I want to experience it. It feels so good. And I know
I've got to live in this body of sin. All I ever do is sin. But I'll tell you what. I want
to live like I've been washed. I want to live like that I care
something about the glory of Christ and live after him, not
after the lust of my sinful nature. Look what Paul says here in verse
15. Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? Shall
I then take the members of Christ and make them the members of
Inharlot? God forbid. What? Know ye not that he which
is joined to Inharlot is one body? For two saith he shall
be one flesh. But he that is joined unto the
Lord is one's spirit. So flee fornication. Every sin
that a man doeth is without the body, but he that committed fornication
sinneth against his own body. What? Know ye not that your body
is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which ye have
of God? And you're not your own, for
you're bought with the price. Therefore glorify God in your
body and in your spirit, which are God's. That is the heartfelt
desire of every believer. I'm not my own. I've been bought
with a price and I want to live in a way that glorifies my savior.
I don't want to bring shame on his gospel and reproach upon
his gospel. And listen, I know my conduct
won't be perfect. I'm not putting a burden on you
now to make your conduct so perfect. But this is true. If I've been
washed in the blood of Christ, There ought to be some evidence
of it, don't you reckon? If there's a new man in my heart,
there ought to be some evidence showing in my conduct. For the
believer, there's a new sheriff in town. I just, I enjoy those
old Westerns. And you know how they are. There's
always a bad guy in a black hat. He's the big, rich guy causing
trouble in all the town. And he's got the sheriff in his
hip pocket doing always what the rich, evil guy wants to do.
And then a new sheriff comes in town. He starts straightening
stuff up, doesn't he? Well, there's a new sheriff in
town in this body, in your body, the body of a blue. There's a
new sheriff in town. He hasn't got rid of all the criminals
yet. That old man, he's still hanging around. But the streets
ought to be a little safer, don't you reckon? The streets ought
to be a little safer. On gun smoke, the streets are
safer, aren't they? They ought to be a little safer.
There's a new sheriff in town. My conduct's not going to be
perfect, but if Christ rules my heart, now there needn't be
a change. And that's not a burden to the
believer. That's a blessing. I don't want to live like this
world, do you? I want to live like Christ. All right, here's
the last thing. Since Christ arose, I'm gonna
be raised from the dead one day in glorified flesh, just like
him. Let's look at 1 Corinthians chapter 15. This is a lengthy
passage, but I'm gonna read it, because the word of God says
it way better than I could. 1 Corinthians 15. You know, some there in Corinth
were questioning and saying, Oh, there's no resurrection of
the dead. And Paul's telling him how vital it is to the gospel
that there is a resurrection, resurrection of Christ and resurrection
of his people. Look here at verse 35. But some
man will say, how are the dead raised up? And with what body
do they come? Thou fool, that which thou sowest
is not quickened except to die. And that which thou sowest, thou
sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain. It may chance
of weed or of some other grain. But God giveth it a body, as
it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body. All flesh
is not the same flesh. There is one kind of flesh of
men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another
of birds. There are also celestial bodies,
and bodies terrestrial. But the glory of the celestial
is one, but the glory of the terrestrial is another. There's
one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another
glory of the stars. For one star differeth from another
star in glory. So also is the resurrection of
the dead. It's sown in corruption. It's
raised in incorruption. What's going to be raised is
not what sowed. Just like you take a grain of corn and you,
a little dried thing, you'd crack your teeth if you tried to chew
it, wouldn't you? You plant that in the ground, but what comes
up is not what you put in there. It's a whole stock of corn, big
old luscious ears. That's what Paul's saying here.
We're going to bury an old dead corrupt body, but that's not
what's coming out of the ground. So also is the resurrection of
the dead. It's sown in corruption, but it's raised in incorruption.
It's sown in dishonor. It's raised in glory. It's sown
in weakness. It's raised in power. It's sown
a natural body. It's raised a spiritual body.
There is a natural body and there is a spiritual body. And so it's
written, the first man, Adam, was made a living soul. The last
Adam was made a quickening spirit. How be it? That was not first,
which is spiritual, but that which is natural. And afterward,
that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth,
earthy. The second man is the Lord from
heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy.
And as is the heavenly, Such are they also that are heavenly.
And as we born the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the
image of the heavenly. Now this I say, brethren, see
here, this must happen, this resurrection and glorified flesh.
This I say, brethren, flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom
of God. Neither does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold,
I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we
shall all be changed in a moment. and the twinkling of an eye at
the last trump. For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall
be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this
corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall
put on incorruption, and this mortal shall put on immortality,
then shall be brought to pass the saying that's written, death
is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting?
O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, and
the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth
us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my brethren,
my beloved brethren, be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in
the work of the Lord, for as much as you know that your labor
is not in vain in the Lord. Now you can't have a more clear
declaration of the doctrine of the resurrection there, can you?
I understand that. Everybody that's paying any attention
can understand that because it's clear as day. But here's what
I want to know. I want to know the power of that
resurrection. And I know we can't experience
the actual power of it until one day when the Lord comes back
and we're raised in incorruptible bodies And that day we'll have
experienced the power of the bodily resurrection only. But
I don't have to wait until then to enjoy it. I can enjoy it now. I can look forward to that with
anticipation now. And here's how we look forward
to the resurrection with some enjoyment. This life is not all there is. This old body is not all there
is. There's something a whole lot
better coming. You know, I know we're all sad
when we go to the cemetery and we bury one of our loved ones.
You know, if they trusted Christ, we're not sad for them. We're
sad for ourselves, aren't we? We're going to miss them. And
we're sad. But next time you're out there
at that cemetery and you're feeling that sadness, you remember this.
That sadness is not all there is either. No, one day, There's
great joy coming in that place where we've gone to bury our
dead. That goodbye is not all there is, but great resurrection
is coming. And we're not going to be raised
in old broke down bodies like these. We're going to be raised
in a body just like the body of Christ our Savior. And there'll
be no more goodbyes. And for the believer, we can
be able To enjoy that now. To enjoy seeing Christ by faith
now. I know it's through a glass darkly.
For the Spirit enables you to see Christ through that glass
darkly by faith. Doesn't that thrill your soul?
Adam, doesn't that make you make it to Wednesday? You see Him
through a glass darkly. But you know what? Even that
seeing through a glass darkly, that's not all there is either.
A believer looks forward to this day of the resurrection. When
the Lord returns, he raises us in a glorified body. And you
know what we'll do then? Worshipping face to face. No
more frosted glass. No more faith. Seeing him face
to face. And I tell you, I can look forward
to that. I can look forward to that with
great anticipation. And if I keep my focus on that,
on what Christ has accomplished for us, what he's bringing to
us, what he's given us, that's going to make all these dark
days that we go down through here a whole lot more tolerable. Because my focus is not, this
is not all there is. I'm looking to him. He's all
there is. I'm looking to him. Oh, if we could see that, experience
the power of his resurrection, that's a blessing in it. All
right, let's bow together. Our Father, oh how we thank you
for your word. How we thank you that your word
declares things that are greater than the human imagination could
ever comprehend. That the Son of God, the Prince
of Glory, will become flesh and sacrifice himself to suffer and
die the death his people deserve because of our sins. to put our
sin away and that he would be raised from the dead. Raised
to never die again. Raised as the justification of
his people. Raised as the surety of his people.
Oh, Father, how we thank you. How we thank you for him. How
we thank you that he is everything that we need. And Father, I pray
you take your word as it's been preached. And by the power of
your spirit, you would apply it to each heart here. that we
could leave here knowing Christ by experiencing Him, the power
of His resurrection in our heart, and leave here finding our joy,
our hope, our peace, our comfort in Him. Father, it's in His precious
name, for His sake we pray, amen. All right, Sean.