Welcome to Walk in the Truth podcast. How do we know where to find answers to the toughest
questions in life? While the simplest answer is the Bible, where do we start this search
and how do we discover this truth? Today, in this teaching podcast, John Meador, lead
pastor of Cross City Church, takes a specific text of the Bible and helps us find truth
for the life we're searching for. We are so glad that you're here to celebrate the
resurrection of Jesus Christ today. And this is a great day to celebrate, isn't it? If
you have your Bibles, please take them and turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 15 today. We're
going to be talking about the resurrection of Jesus. Today, the resurrection that requires
a response, the resurrection that requires a response. 1 Corinthians chapter 15, if you
would. If you were here with us on Friday, you know this is just part of the whole Easter
weekend. And on Friday, we did what we call the cross service. And many of you have seen
it before. We've done it now for over 17 years since I've been here. And I think I've built
a hundred crosses in the last 25 years that are all about this size. And I keep saying
that as I get older, I'm going to make them smaller and smaller, but that's not how it's
working out. They're getting bigger and bigger it seems. But I never cease to be amazed at
how the cross draws people to Jesus in a powerful, unmistakable way. So we celebrate that on
Good Friday. And of course, Good Friday is named Good Friday because of the incredible
good that comes out of the cross into our lives. But I want you to imagine with me for
just a moment, what would happen if Jesus had died on the cross, been buried and never
came out of that tomb, did not rise from the dead. I want you to imagine for just a few
moments a world in which a proclaimed Messiah and a proclaimed Savior was crucified, was
put to death, but was not able to fulfill the promise to rise again. Imagine a spiritual
life trying to get to God, but having no real way of getting there and no one who could
lead them there. First Corinthians chapter 15 is a chapter about the resurrection of
Jesus written to a group of people who often doubted the resurrection of Jesus. In fact,
the mindset was, I'm not sure he rose from the dead. If he did, I'm not sure how important
the resurrection is anyway. And we're going to answer some questions about the resurrection
today. Please stand with me as we read God's word today and as we talk about the resurrection.
By the way, as you find this text in your passages in the Bible, you need to keep in
mind that everything about the Christian faith is built on historical, archeological evidence
as well as prophetic evidence that these things have actually taken place in the way that
they have. When we hold the Bible, when we read it, we don't read it as though it's
a fantastic story of stories. It's not just a book of fables and it's not something that
someone said that we think might have happened. It's something that has been validated and
verified in every possible way. And when we read God's word, we're understanding of
that. But I also know that there are those who doubt some things about the Bible and
there are those that doubt the resurrection of Jesus Christ. I need you to know today
that Jesus was patient with people who doubted the resurrection of Jesus himself. He came
to Thomas in the upper room and showed him the wounds in his hands and side. Paul was
patient with a group of believers, some of them new believers, who were concerned about
the reality of the resurrection. That's the background that I'm reading from as he writes
this letter. First Corinthians chapter 15 verse 12. Now if Christ is preached that he
has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say there is no resurrection of
the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised.
And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain and your faith also is vain.
Moreover, we are even found to be false witnesses of God because we testified against God that
he raised Christ whom he did not raise if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the
dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised,
your faith is worthless and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen
asleep or died in Christ have perished. That's a real strong word with a final stop to it.
They have perished and there's nothing else. And then he says, if we have hoped in Christ
in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied. One translation says most miserable.
Paul is making a clear argument, a clear statement about what would it be like if Christ had
not risen from the dead. Let's pray together. Father, I pray that you will use this text
and the text surround what we've just read to speak to us today about the resurrection
and what it means to us. I ask this in Jesus' name. And everybody said amen. Please be seated
if you would. So they're asking, did it happen? Why does it matter? I suspect that many of
you in the room today believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We had a phenomenal worship
experience where people were singing about the name of Jesus as though he were alive.
And he is alive. We were singing about him as though he rose from the dead and he did
rise from the dead. And nevertheless, there are times and there are people who sometimes
doubt the resurrection of Jesus and it affects their faith in so many different ways. And
I want to celebrate in such a way that also points out the validity of his resurrection
from the dead. That's what Paul is doing. Using the word if, he's delivering a set of
conditional propositions to the people reading the letter to us today. If Christ didn't rise
from the dead, then this is the result. He says that at least five different times as
we work through that text together. I'm just going to throw all five on the screen for
just a moment to show you how it impacts life and how it impacts eternity. Because if there's
no resurrection, then we face five insurmountable problems that no religion, no person, no way
can we get around in any way.
Number one, if there is no resurrection, then Christ was merely human. A good human being
about human, not supernatural, and God is not personal. Number two, if Christ has not
risen from the dead, then we have no truth and no basis for truth and no basis for faith.
Everything the Old Testament says about what would have happened to Christ, everything
Jesus said he would do, everything the disciples said he did do would be invalid. You would
have no reason for faith at all. Number three, if Christ has not risen from the dead, then
forgiveness becomes impossible. Paul literally says that if Christ be not raised, you're
still in your sense. No one has ever, nor will anyone ever be able to be an intermediary
between God and man but Jesus. And if Jesus did not rise from the dead, he failed in that
mission.
Number four, eternity, hope, and purpose do not exist. If this life is the only life we
have, and I love the New King James Version that says we are of all men most miserable.
Sometimes life is miserable and hard and if this is all we have, then we may be of all
men most miserable.
Then number five, there is no victory over our life's greatest enemies, including death.
Death is final, there's nothing beyond it, nothing you can do about it. Death is the
end. Now there are a lot of reasons that we want the resurrection to be true, but the
reality is the resurrection is true. And Paul is writing to help us understand that it is.
Even modern doubters are won by the overwhelming evidence of the resurrection of Jesus. Some
of you know the name of Lee Strobel, a fantastic speaker, a great author who doubted the resurrection
of Jesus. And when his wife came to faith and he decided to disprove the basis of her
faith, and so he did extensive study into the resurrection of Jesus, interviewing people
from all over, from various fields of science and archeology. And he came to the conclusion
after 700 hours of research that Christ did rise from the dead and he wrote a series of
books called The Case for Christ, The Case for Easter, The Case for Resurrection. Many
of you know a guy named Josh McDowell who wrote a book called Evidence that Demands
a Verdict. Josh McDowell also was a doubter and he was an intellectual. And his goal,
his life goal was to disprove the resurrection of Jesus. And in his research he came to believe
that Jesus had risen from the dead and put his faith and trust in Christ. He actually
wrote this text, this statement I'm about to read to you. He said, after more than 700
years of studying this subject, 700 hours, excuse me, of studying this subject, and thoroughly
investigating its foundation, I have come to the conclusion that the resurrection of
Jesus is one of the most wicked, vicious, heartless hoaxes ever foisted upon the minds
of men, or it is the most fantastic fact of history. And he of course arrived at that
place of saying, this is the most amazing fact in history and I put my faith in Christ.
That is the testimony of Josh McDowell.
Now I want you to think about resurrection for just a few moments. There probably are
medical personnel in the room and so resurrection is literally bringing someone back from the
dead. Now whenever that happens in modern science and modern medicine and modern history,
we find out about it, we hear about it don't we? It makes the headline, when's the last
time you had a headline blazing across your screen or across a paper or magazine article
that said, a man dead three days has come back to life. When's the last time you read
that? You haven't read that. Most medical personnel will say that after 20 to 30 minutes
of someone whose heart has ceased, who has ceased breathing, they call them dead and
no more emergency treatment is given. In fact we have on record the longest time a person
that has been without vital signs and yet came back to life was 80 minutes. In the case
of a woman who drowned literally in frozen water and cold water and they got her body
out, they resuscitated her after 80 minutes and she came back to life. There are unconfirmed
reports of people that have been dead for three and a half hours. Someone else said
that they had read of someone that had been dead eight hours but no confirmation because
when a person dies their body immediately goes into decomposition automatically. The
enzymes of the body and the internal parts of the body begin to decompose and the body
quickly quickly becomes unable in any way to be resuscitated. And yet Jesus after three
days in the tomb came back to life. Now three days confirmed by Roman soldiers whose job
it was to put him to death. Who sealed a tomb and their job again was to make sure no one
tampered with their body. These men knew when someone was dead it was their job to do that.
These men knew when someone would be buried that they would be buried securely. These
men knew how to do that and yet on the third day when they came out to find the body of
Jesus his body was nowhere to be found which prompted the cries from the women and the
disciples that he's risen from the dead. We're dealing with something that's archaeologically
and scientifically and in every way impossible and yet it's proven that these eyewitnesses
saw Jesus Christ come back from the dead. So if someone rises from the dead after three
days it might be a good idea to think about listening to him and following him and learning
from him. His name is Jesus Christ. So today I want to talk to you about the resurrection
of Jesus and Paul as he says if Christ be not raised all these things are what you have
the result of no resurrection but if he's raised and he has here's what you have. Keep
reading in the Bible 1 Corinthians 15 verse 20 Paul continues on but now Christ has been
raised from the dead. The first fruits of those who are asleep for since by a man came death
by a man also came resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die so also in Christ all
will be made alive. That's an impact that's a result of the resurrection. But each in
his own order Christ the first fruits and after that those who are Christ at his coming
and then comes the end when he hands over the kingdom to the God and father when he
has abolished all rules and all authority and power for he must reign until he has put
all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death. Now all these
things are very encouraging to me because I know I won't live forever and I know you
won't live forever and I know if we want to live beyond this life we have to have someone
that's able to overcome death and sin and all the other things we have to overcome and
that name is Jesus. So I want you today to consider the resurrection of Jesus Christ
and what it does do for you and how it is powerful in your life. I want you to see how
practical it is. I want you to know that his resurrection is not just a fact it is a basis
for faith and even how you believe and what you believe him for. Number one, if Christ
rose from the dead it demonstrates that God is powerful and personal. Powerful and personal.
Now notice how Paul words the negative side of that. He says but if there is no resurrection
from the dead not even Christ has been raised. He uses the word Christ specifically. In this
case not Jesus but Christ. Now what Paul is saying is not even the Messiah that God sent
us was raised. Now the very fact that God sent us the Messiah says that God is personal
and the fact that he would allow him to be born of a virgin, walk on the planet, interact
with us, perform miracles, raise the dead himself and then finally be raised on the third day
said that he is powerful. Without a Messiah you have a God who may be all knowing, all
wise but seems so distant, so far that we can't know him well. But the Bible says that
Jesus came to show us who God really was, who he is and how he worked. If Christ was
not raised from the dead then God has failed to explain himself to us. But because he did
rise from the dead we know we have a Messiah and we can believe that God is able to rescue
mankind if he rose. And it tells us that God is real and God is personal. Now think about
the verses that you will remember very easily. John chapter 3 verse 16. For God so loved
the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him should not perish
but have everlasting life. God is making Jesus personal and powerful in that he sent him.
What about John chapter 1 verse 1, in the beginning was the word and the word was with
God and the word was God. And then verse 14, and the word was made flesh and dwelt among
us and we saw his glory, glory as of the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth.
And in that writing John the apostle is saying Jesus helped us know who God was. He helped
us know how personal God is. In verse 18 John goes on and says that no man has seen God
at any time but the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, he has explained
him. So Jesus has come as Messiah, he has come in a personal way, in a powerful way,
he has explained and manifested to us who God is. So that means basically the fact that
Jesus rose from the dead means that God is personal, he's powerful, it means that Jesus
came and he identified with us and he connected with us, he loved us, he knows us, he cares
for us and he did all that and then rose from the dead to show us that God is powerful and
personal. Without Jesus rising from the dead and without Jesus even coming your God is
distant and far away and you're unable to approach him. All the world religions today,
apart from Christianity, involve that, a distant cold deity that has no way to connect us,
no way to explain life to him and God loves you so much that he sent his son Jesus so
you could know him and know God. But when Jesus rose from the dead we knew God was powerful
and God was personal and the resurrection helps you know that all the days of your life.
Secondly, the resurrection says that truth is reliable. Truth is reliable. In verse 17
and 14 as well, Paul said, if Christ has not been raised then our preaching is vain and
your faith also is vain. He goes on and says your faith is worthless. So right into a group
of people who have belief in Jesus he said, if you don't embrace the resurrection of Jesus
then everything you call faith has a weakness to it. It's worthless. Paul literally says,
even what I preach is meaningless if Christ is not risen because what we preach has no
power to change anything. If God could not raise Jesus from the dead, he can't help
you with the problems that you have in life, the difficult challenges that you face and
he can't help you after you finish your life here on earth, after you die because if he
couldn't raise Jesus he couldn't raise you either. And you have no basis for faith and
no firm foundation for following God. Now some of my adult kids these days are buying
houses and when they buy houses they often call dad and dad is the secondary inspector.
We always have to call an inspector to inspect the houses but I have to come over and I have
to check it out, right? And on almost every one of these homes that my kids have purchased
the foundation becomes a question. Is the foundation solid? Is the foundation not moving?
Is it firm? We have people come out that are specialists and they measure the height of
the foundation over here and the height of the foundation over there and they make sure
that it's not moving down a hill, it's not tilting one way or another, there's no cracks
on the walls, there's no cracks in the doors, they're all aligned perfectly and we do that
because we don't want to buy a house and live in a house, a temporary dwelling place that
will only be in for a few years. We don't want to do that if it's not got a great foundation
and we should make sure it has a strong foundation. You need to make sure you have a great foundation
for faith because when your faith is challenged and when the world that so vehemently cries
out against your Christian faith you need to know that you're standing on solid ground,
that you have a basis for saying what you say about Jesus and that you have a basis
for believing that he can fulfill the word that he gave us. Paul said if it weren't for
the resurrection we don't have a message, we don't have anything to say to you and you
have no reason to believe at all but because Jesus rose from the dead you can have absolute
confidence. The resurrection says that our beliefs are reliable and trustworthy in every
way. Did you know that when Jesus came and was born of a virgin and you know the whole
Christmas story as it unfolds that it was preceded by prophecy? We all know about the
prophecies of Christ and we all love to talk about how he fulfilled every one of those
prophecies of the Messiah coming. But many of us may not know that some of the prophecies
of Jesus prophesy his resurrection as well. In Isaiah chapter 53 verse 10 the scripture
says the Lord was pleased to crush him putting him to grief speaking about the scourging
of the cross. If he would render himself as a guilt offering specifically talking about
the cross it says he will see his offspring and then it says he will prolong his days
and the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in his hand. In other words prophecy says
that God would prolong the days of Jesus. That this death as a guilt offering as a man
dying on the cross was not the end of Jesus life that his life would be prolonged. So
prophecy tells us about the resurrection of Jesus just like it tells us about the incarnation
of Jesus and our faith is reliable because the resurrection was fulfilled that was prophesied.
We also know the resurrection was real because of eyewitness accounts. Read 1 Corinthians
chapter 3 and read all of the numbers of people who saw Christ alive from the grave. Did you
know that hundreds of people saw Christ risen from the dead? It wasn't just Mary and the
disciples it was hundreds of people. Paul wrote and said some of them are alive even
to this day. In other words you can validate what I write by those eyewitnesses who saw
Jesus Christ after the third day alive and well. Now you know what happens in society
when eyewitnesses see a crime. When eyewitnesses see a crime in our society it's considered
validation enough to prosecute the criminal that a person saw them commit a crime towards.
We put people into capital punishment situations. We execute people who others have seen as
eyewitnesses them commit a murder. We put a lot of weight in eyewitnesses accounts don't
we? If you see something then you are someone that is absolutely certain that you saw what
you saw and you convinced others I saw it. And so what happened? Eyewitness accounts
are important just because you and I weren't there 2000 years ago doesn't mean no one
saw Jesus risen from the dead. Hundreds of people saw him from the dead. You have prophecy
fulfilled. You have eyewitness accounts. You have changes in the disciples lives. These
disciples were so fearful at the cross after the resurrection became on fire for Jesus.
They would not quit talking about the resurrection of Jesus. Paul was imprisoned several times
for talking about the resurrection from the dead. What could explain the changes in these
men's lives other than the fact that Jesus rose from the dead? You look at the subsequent
history of the New Testament church and the move of the church from where it began at
Pentecost in Jerusalem to spread throughout the world and the only explanation is Jesus
Christ is alive. He is real. He is life transforming to every single one of us and that is why we
keep talking about that. Your faith is firm. But then you also have this. You have an empty
tomb. The reality of these disciples running to this tomb and finding the tomb where Jesus
was buried completely empty is not lost on us. This is a picture of the garden tomb that
we took when we were in Jerusalem last year. Someone might say well there are two different
sites where the tomb of Jesus must have been and we are not sure which one it was and my
response to that is you are absolutely right. We are not sure exactly which tomb it was
but the debate about which tomb that Jesus was buried in we are not sure about but Jesus
did rise again and there is no debate about that. What you and I need to know today is
that He is alive. He died, He was buried and when they came to find Him in the tomb He
was gone and then He appeared again and He was alive and hundreds saw Him. Because of
that you can believe your faith. You can believe the basis of the scripture. It is reliable
and everything the scripture says is reliable because it is reliable in this place. It is
dependable, it is true. We have knowledge of the Christ and all that He did, all that
He said and the Bible brings us to Christ but Christ Himself fastens us to scripture
because He rose. We have truth, it is real. That is number two. Number three and you will
love this one. Sin is forgiven. In verse 17, the Father says if Christ is not there, if
Christ is not risen then you are still in your sins. In other words there is no other
basis for the forgiveness of sin other than Jesus' death, burial and resurrection. If
He didn't rise then He died just like any other man might die on a cross and we still
search for a Savior. We still need someone to atone for our sins and to overcome sin
and death. Can you imagine a life without forgiveness? You probably have experienced
some periods of life without forgiveness. We carry the weight of our sin on us, we feel
the weight of it. We feel the weight of our offense at somebody else's hands too and
things we have said and done to others. We are weighted down by that. It is not an easy
life to live when you are living in a place of unforgiveness. We have all kinds of regrets
and separation because of our inability to forgive others. We walk sometimes far from
God because we don't seek His forgiveness. It is very real for many of us. The reality
is that unforgiveness will always be a part of our lives if Jesus had not risen from the
dead. Years ago I heard of a most unusual term and it was really almost a horrific term
called the sin eater. It described a medieval practice years ago where sin eaters were individuals
who made their money by eating a meal that was served on the chest of a dead family member
and someone had called the sin eater to come eat that meal and in some way pronounced that
the sins had been forgiven on the basis of the sin eater eating their sin. Sounds horrific
doesn't it? Doesn't sound like something I would recommend? But it was an actual practice
and the whole idea behind it was somebody needs to pay for sins. I said we don't know
who that is and we don't know how it would take place. We will hire the sin eater to
come and eat this meal and ceremoniously consume those sins and remove them. When I first read
that I thought the medieval people didn't have the best ideas right? And then I thought
they may have better ideas than we sometimes have. At least those people knew that sin
was a barrier between ourselves and God. At least they knew that something had to pay
for sins that we committed against God and against each other. At some point they realized
there has to be a solution to this. This is the only one that we happen to have. But when
Jesus Christ came the Bible says that Jesus became sin on our behalf. That he actually
paid for the sins on the cross. That he was the guilt offering that God placed on the
cross to pay for our sin and consume it. The Bible says he who knew those sins became sin
on our behalf. That we might become the righteousness of God in him. Man what a powerful thing.
But if Jesus had not risen from the dead then all of that would say he wasn't strong enough
to overcome sin. He wasn't strong enough to overcome death. One of the greatest things
I enjoy as a pastor is walking through the cross service and being able to point to this
cross and as I point to the cross talk about the whole history of the blood sacrifice.
The blood sacrifice began in the Garden of Eden as you may know where Adam and Eve sinned
and then God slew an innocent animal and covered them with its skins. And then it began further
with Abraham and Aaron and then it went on up to the time of Jesus day when the sacrifices
were still being made in the temple in Jerusalem. And until Jesus Christ died on the cross those
sacrifices continued on. The Old Testament sacrificial system was innocent blood shed
for guilty to pay for sin. When Jesus Christ came John the Baptist said the first to recognize
him is who he was. Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. What
a statement. Jesus lived that perfect life. He died on the cross as the Lamb of God that
takes away the sin of the world and he consumed our sin in doing so. God buried him. He was
buried. God allowed him to be buried and rose again the third day to overcome the sin and
promise forgiveness. Because Jesus rose from the dead you and I can know that our sins
are forgiven that we are no longer in our sins because of Jesus Christ. Apart from him
what would we do with all of our foolish actions and statements and things that we have done
over the years? Where would the thief on the cross be if Jesus Christ had not forgiven?
Where would Peter be who denied Christ three times if Jesus had not risen from the dead?
But he rose from the dead which means that we have forgiveness of sin. Somebody in the
room say amen. I am glad that we have forgiveness of sin. So sin is forgiven.
Number four, eternity is security. In verse 18 and 19 is that verse that says that those
also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished if we have hoped in Christ in this
life only were of all men most to be pitied. As a pastor I do a lot of funerals and sometimes
I am asked to do funerals of people who had no faith, who had no hope of eternal life.
And I can tell you some of the saddest services I have ever been in have been those kinds
of services. Not necessarily because of what was said but because of what everybody knows
in the room. This person had no faith, they had no hope beyond death. I can watch families
walk by a casket, I can see them and interact with them and know this is the saddest of
all sad. To live life with all its highs and lows and then to come to a full stop and say
there is nothing better than that, there is not going to improve, there is no more hope,
no more meaning than whatever that person had. This is it.
Now in Paul's study when he talked about if we have hoped in Christ in this life only
were of all men most miserable, he was referring to the difficulty of living the Christian
life. People gave their lives for the testimony of Christ, sometimes they lost their families
for that. It was a tough time to live. And Paul was simply saying life is not going to
be always great, we need to have something that has more meaning and hope beyond this
life and eternity is what Jesus Christ secured when he rose from the dead. I am glad for
this. As much meaning and purpose as I have in this life, I am glad that everything I
have done goes ahead of me and I have greater purpose and meaning after I die on this planet
to be with Jesus. The Bible says to be absent from body is to be present with Christ because
He has gone ahead of us and He has prepared the way. I love the resurrection because it
says I will live again and you will live again if your faith is in Jesus Christ. Apart from
that your life will be just a series of ups and downs, satisfied sometimes with things
you gain, dissatisfied with the emptiness of them and have no hope of meaning beyond
the grave without Christ's resurrection and your faith in Him. And then finally I want
to share with you that the resurrection means that death is abolished. Death is abolished.
The Bible says then comes the end when He has abolished all rule and all authority and
all power, the last enemy that will be abolished is death. You know this is where the resurrection
becomes extremely practical today to you. There might be some of you today that say
you know I am not really concerned about death, that is a long way into the future, but there
will be a defining moment in your life where death becomes real to you. At some point you
will feel it in your life. Or someone close to you, someone that you love is close to
death or has been threatened by death and all of a sudden it is incredibly important
to know about eternity, about life beyond the grave, about the fact that someone has
abolished death, overcome death. When Jesus rose from the dead He removed the threat of
death for every single one of us. Now there are some in the room that say you know I don't
trust Christ, I am not putting my faith in Him, I will take my chances and I just want
to say to you today I don't like your odds. I don't like the odds that you are trying
to bring to your favor because if you are not powerful enough to overcome death, there
is no one else that has overcome death, only Jesus rose from the dead after the third day.
If you have a religion it is not going to be enough to rise you from the dead. Nothing
else will raise you from the dead except the man who did rise from the dead, Jesus Christ.
I don't like your odds without Jesus. With Jesus I love the idea that you will have life
after death because death is abolished. It all comes down to someone that goes before
us who is waiting on the other side. Christ is gone to the Father, He is waiting on the
other side. You may not need this truth today but there will be a day when you need this
truth more than anything you can possibly imagine and on that day you will say thank
God for raising Jesus Christ from the dead. Thank God there is life after this one here.
You know as you think about the cross of Jesus, amen. As you think about the cross of Jesus,
as you think about the tomb, as you think about the resurrection, I want to ask you
today how solidly, how firmly is your faith resting on Him, on that person who died, who
was buried, who rose, who will come again? Because today when you see the resurrection
of Jesus is real and you haven't embraced Him in the past, today is that day. On Good
Friday, Friday night, I gave an invitation to people after they saw the cross raised
and I am so thankful for how God was moving in the hearts of people and they were just
ready to put their faith and trust in Christ. There were so many as we mentioned a few moments
ago. It is kind of always the way it worked. One of the ways that we have prepared for
people is to pray for them by name and there may be a meeting in this room today, you have
been prayed for by name. People have prayed that you might know Christ in a very real
way and that maybe at this moment that you need to make a decision to put your faith
and trust in Christ. And I want to lead you to do that right now. I am going to lead us
in a prayer right where we are. And then I am going to ask you to respond to me, to actually
text me at the end of the service and say, I put my faith and trust in Christ, what's
next? And I want to help you in what's next but right now I want to help you put your
faith and trust in Christ. I am going to pray a prayer in just a moment that I invite anyone
to pray with me. That prayer will say something like this, it will say, Lord Jesus I know
that you came, that you lived the life that the Bible describes, that you died on the
cross. I believe that you were buried and that you rose again the third day and that
you offer eternal life. And today I want to accept the gift of eternal life. I want you
to forgive me of my sin. I want you to give me this gift. I put my faith firmly in you.
I choose to follow you. I am going to lead you in a prayer like that. And if you want
to pray that prayer today, I want you to join me right now. You can pray silently while I
pray out loud. I am going to give you time to do that. You can whisper your prayer. You
can say it however you want to say it. You can say it out loud. But as you do that, just
know Christ who knows you well will hear your prayer and respond to you should you choose
to put your faith in Christ. Would you bow with me? Father in Jesus name, I thank you
for these in the room and over these next few moments I want to give space for them
to make the decision to allow you to be the Lord and Savior of their lives, to believe
all of the claims made about you and that you did rise again from the dead. And Lord
as they prepare to ask you to give them the gift of eternal life, I pray Lord that you
give them the faith they need, the trust they need to do that very thing. Hear them as they
pray. I ask this in Jesus name. And with your heads bowed, eyes closed, I am going to say
these words, walk you through this prayer for those that want to put their faith in
Christ. Just say these words to the Lord. Dear Heavenly Father, today I know that Jesus
Christ came to the earth. I believe he lived the perfect life and I believe he died on
the cross. I know he was buried and today I believe he rose from the dead. And I ask
you Lord to give me this gift of eternal life that Jesus has secured. I ask that you forgive
me of my sins and give me the gift that you promised. Lead me in the way I am to walk.
Help me to put my faith firmly on your truth. And I pray that you will confirm in my life
that you are there. Thank you for the gift of salvation. I ask this in Jesus name. And
let everybody in the room say amen. There may be some of you that prayed that prayer
today. It would be my greatest desire to be able to interact with you. And if you would
just take your phone and text the word talk to 63566. Text the word talk to 63566. If
you prayed that prayer or if you are a guest today, text the word guest to that same number,
63566. Now if you prayed to accept Christ today, on your way out I have a gift for you
that I want you to receive. There are stations at each of our exit doors. And just show them
that you have texted me and they will give you this gift bag with scriptures in it and
some next steps in it. But I just want to be of help to you if you put your faith and
trust in Christ today. Now are you glad for the resurrection of Jesus? Today would you
just stand and give an ovation to the Lord who has forgiven us, who has given us eternal
life? Father today I am so grateful for the life that we have in Jesus and I ask you today
just to be very real to each one of us as only you can. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
God bless you. Have a wonderful Easter.