Faith is not Futile

We're in the house of the Lord, let's celebrate, let's sing. Let's get our hands together, come on. It's good to be in this house today. Hey! We have so much reason to praise. He saved us, He's redeemed us, He's changing lives, come on. Let's sing this together. ♪ I have held the hands of fearless skies ♪ ♪ Reached down to rescue me, I have known the love of the Father's heart ♪ ♪ The prodigal now redeemed, from where I was to where I'm now, it's overwhelming ♪ Come on, testify today. ♪ The more and more I see you move, it's all around me ♪ ♪ Oh, I can't help but praise you, praise you Lord ♪ ♪ Oh, I can't help but lift up shouts of joy ♪ ♪ And when I think of how good you've been, you've faithful now till the end ♪ ♪ Oh, I can't help but praise you, praise you Lord ♪ Yes! ♪ For the blood you spilled to save my life, a debt I cannot repay ♪ Yes! ♪ For the cross you bore with open arms, salvation I call my name ♪ ♪ The prodigal now redeemed, from where I was to where I'm now, it's overwhelming ♪ Come on, testify today. ♪ The more and more I see you move, it's all around me ♪ ♪ Oh, I can't help but praise you, praise you Lord ♪ ♪ Oh, I can't help but lift up shouts of joy ♪ ♪ And when I think of how good you've been, you've faithful now till the end ♪ ♪ Oh, I can't help but praise you, praise you Lord ♪ Come on church! ♪ And I can't help but dance cause I'm free, got no chains on me, I'm healed and redeemed, yes! ♪ ♪ I can't help but call on the name that buried my shame, who opened my grave ♪

♪ I can't help but dance cause I'm free, got no chains on me, I'm healed and redeemed, yes! ♪ ♪ I can't help but call on the name that buried my shame, who opened my grave ♪ ♪ I can't help but praise you, praise you Lord ♪ ♪ I can't help but lift up shouts of joy ♪ ♪ And when I think of how good you've been, you've faithful now till the end ♪ ♪ I can't help but praise you, praise you Lord ♪ Come on! ♪ I can't help but praise you, praise you Lord ♪ One more time, sing! ♪ I can't help but praise you, praise you Lord ♪ Oh come on, give a praise in this house, yes! Well hey, good morning, welcome to the local church. It's the perfect place for imperfect people to experience the presence of God. So grateful you're here, grateful God meets us here. You can be seated for just a quick minute. And hey, my name is Carson Pedraza. It is my privilege and honor to welcome you here today, especially if you're a guest in our house. We're so grateful that you're spending your Sunday morning with us. In fact, we have a free gift just for you. It's our little way of saying thank you for joining us. If you haven't already done so, do us a favor, fill out that Connect card in the seat back in front of you. We want to put a free gift in your hands. So much more than that. We want to get to know your name and your story. Make sure you get a proper welcome here today. And listen, we talk about almost every single week, I mention this little thing called Connect Track. And maybe you're here and you're going, yeah, that's not for me.

That's a new believers class, that's new to the church class, that's not for me. And while if you're a new believer, I recommend you go to Connect Track. If you're new to the church, I recommend you go to Connect Track. That's not all that Connect Track is. We'll talk about Jesus. We'll talk about what we're called to be as a church, what we believe in, who we are as a church. But what my favorite part about Connect Track is we talk about you. We talk about how God has designed you. We help you figure out how he has equipped you, what gifts he has put inside of you, He has blessed you with it. So we do all that so that you can figure out. Hey, hey, what does God call me to? What is my place, my part to play here at the local church? What is my part to play in the kingdom of God? And so if you're here today, and you've never been a part of Connect Track, I encourage you to join us. It's the last Sunday of every single month. So next weekend, we'll be having Connect Track. And it's a great course to be able to find your spot right here at the local church. You can sign up on our website or our app. And hey, listen, today's a good day. It's always a good day. But today is Baptism Sunday, and we're going to baptize in just a second. But I want you guys to pay attention in just a minute when we go to baptism. These people are about to walk in that water, and they're going to sit down, and they're going to get dunked under. And what you'll notice is that nobody is going under the water and holding their wallet up in the air and saying, you can have all of me, God, except for this one thing. Right? That would be so wild. But sometimes that's how we live our lives. Sometimes we say, God, you can have my relationships. You can have my eternity. You can have all of these things. You can have my work. You can have my prayer life. You can have my time. You can have everything except for this one thing, my one little precious wallet that I keep in my back pocket, right? We would never do that. But God has called us to just submit all of it to Him. And that's why we give.

We don't give because God needs our money. He has given it to us, right? Like He doesn't need anything. We give because it's our way of telling God, hey, you get all of me. And out of whether it's my little or a lot, whatever I give, it's me recognizing, you get all of me. It's even this part of me that I hold so precious. So if you're here today and giving is part of your worship, there are several ways you could do so. They're on the screens behind me. We have some offering boxes on your way out, a giving kiosk in the lobby. You can always give safely and securely online. But right now we're going to pass some buckets. And so if you're on the left-hand side of your row, if you could reach down and pass that to the right, it would be greatly appreciated. And while those buckets are being passed, I mentioned today's Baptism Sunday. We've got people who have said yes to Jesus and are ready to be loud and proud about their faith. We're baptized because Jesus did it and then He told us to do it. And so it's a sign of obedience. It's one of our very first steps of obedience as believers. And listen, this baptism, there's nothing special about this water. It is Davie's finest tap water, okay? It's just regular water from a hose. And it's not what saves us. What it is, is it is what it represents. It represents, when we go under that water, Jesus' death and burial. And we come out of that water, it represents His resurrection from the grave. And that it is His death, burial, and resurrection that brings us, that washes our sins clean, that gives us salvation and hope. And He's called us to be public with our faith. And this is the most public thing you could ever do, right? It's like, just show up and get in a body of water in front of a bunch of people. And so that's what baptism is all about today. And so we celebrate it, we put it in the middle of worship because we think that's where it belongs. So would you join me in standing, joining us in worship and celebrating baptism this morning? I hear the Savior sing, Thy strength indeed is strong. Child of weakness, watch and know, Find in me Thine all in all. Jesus paid the oath unto Thee, My Lord. See, I left Your crimson stain, You washed it white as snow. Lord, how indeed I find, Thy strength not alone. Can't change the leper's smile, Can't melt the heart of stone. Jesus paid the oath unto Thee, My Lord. See, I left Your crimson stain, You washed it white as snow.

♪ He washes white as snow, oh, we thank you Jesus ♪ ♪ And when before the throne I stand in him complete ♪ ♪ Jesus died my soul to save, my lips shall still be clean ♪ ♪ My lips shall still be clean, come on we're grateful today ♪ ♪ Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe, amen ♪ ♪ Sin had left a crimson stain, he washed it white as snow ♪ ♪ Sin had left a crimson stain, he washed it white as snow ♪ ♪ He washed it white, he washed it white as snow ♪ ♪ He washed it white as snow ♪ Come on church, let's give a praise in this house. Let's sing this out together with one voice. ♪ Oh praise the one who paid my debt ♪ ♪ And raised this life up from the dead ♪ ♪ Oh praise the one who paid my debt ♪ ♪ And raised this life up from the dead ♪ Come on if you're grateful. ♪ Oh praise the one who paid my debt ♪ ♪ And raised this life up from the dead ♪ ♪ Oh praise the one who paid my debt ♪ ♪ And raised this life up from the dead ♪ ♪ Oh praise the one who paid my debt ♪ ♪ And raised this life up from the dead ♪ ♪ Oh praise the one who paid my debt ♪ ♪ And raised this life up from the dead ♪ ♪ Jesus, that's who we're here to worship ♪ ♪ Oh yes we thank you, we thank you Jesus, oh ♪ Yes we thank you. ♪ Oh praise the one who paid my debt ♪ ♪ And raised this life up from the dead ♪ ♪ Oh praise the one who paid my debt ♪

♪ And raised this life up from the dead ♪ Come on, lift your voice, church. ♪ Oh praise the one who paid my debt ♪ ♪ And raised this life up from the dead ♪ ♪ Oh praise the one who paid my debt ♪ ♪ And raised this life up from the dead ♪ ♪ Jesus ♪ Come on, give him praise. We praise you, Jesus. Amen, today as we walk in, as we worship, as we sing of how he's redeemed us, how he's given us wholeness, let's remember that is the life change that we've experienced and that is why we worship. That's why he's so worthy, that's why he's so deserving. And so now as we are here, he's in the room, let's respond to that truth that he's here. Let's give him the honor he deserves, church, amen. Let's sing together, come on. ♪ Maybe we've made things complicated ♪ ♪ More than it was ever meant to be ♪ ♪ Hasn't it always been about the same thing ♪ ♪ Lord, bring us back to simple things ♪ ♪ You'll be the center of it all ♪ ♪ My heart belongs to you, my Savior, all in all ♪ ♪ You're the one I hold on to ♪ ♪ For the beauty of your name, my soul will live forever ♪ ♪ I live to say, Jesus, I love you ♪ ♪ You teach us to deserve the moment ♪ ♪ When to serve and when to sit here at your feet ♪

♪♪ ♪ Keep us awake to what's important ♪ ♪ Just like Mary chose the better thing ♪ ♪♪ ♪ Oh, for You are the center of it all ♪ ♪ My heart belongs to You, my Savior, all in all ♪ ♪ You're the one I hold on to for the beauty of Your name ♪ ♪ My soul will live to say, Jesus, I love You ♪ ♪ Oh, for You are the center of it all ♪ ♪ My heart belongs to You, my Savior, all in all ♪ ♪ You're the one I hold on to for the beauty of Your name ♪ ♪ My soul will live to say, Jesus, I love You ♪ ♪ Oh, how I love You ♪ ♪ Oh, how I love You, Jesus, I love You ♪ ♪ Oh, how I love You ♪ ♪ Oh, how I love You, Jesus, I love You ♪ ♪ My whole life for Your glory, my whole world for You only ♪ ♪ Everything for the honor of Your name ♪ ♪ And if my days tell a story, let it be of You only ♪ ♪ Everything for the honor of Your name ♪ ♪ And my whole life for Your glory, my whole world for You only ♪ ♪ Everything for the honor of Your name ♪ ♪ And if my days tell a story, let it be of You only ♪ ♪ Everything for the honor of Your name ♪ ♪ And my whole life for Your glory, my whole world for You only ♪ ♪ Everything for the honor of Your name ♪ ♪ And if my days tell a story, let it be of You only ♪ ♪ Everything for the honor of Your name ♪ ♪ Oh, how I love You ♪ ♪ Oh, how I love You, Jesus, I love You ♪

♪ Oh, how I love You ♪ ♪ Oh, how I love You, Jesus, I love You ♪ ♪ And my whole life for Your glory, my whole world for You only ♪ ♪ Everything for the honor of Your name ♪ ♪ And if my days tell a story, let it be of You only ♪ ♪ Everything for the honor of Your name ♪ ♪ And my whole life for Your glory, my whole world for You only ♪ ♪ Everything for the honor of Your name ♪ ♪ And if my days tell a story, let it be of You only ♪ ♪ Everything for the honor of Your name ♪ Come on, give Him praise. We thank You, Jesus. We worship You. Jesus, our lives are not our own, Lord. You bought them at a price. You paid the ultimate sacrifice so that we could be saved. and set free. So we can have freedom over sin and life after death, God. You are worthy of all of our praise, of all of our life, God. Today, as we remember this weekend, those who paid the ultimate sacrifice, who laid down their lives so that we can have this freedom in this country to worship you freely, Lord. Let us not just simply grill hamburgers and eat hot dogs and enjoy time with our family without remembering the sacrifice that was made. We're grateful, Lord. We're grateful for the freedom we have here in the United States, Lord. And we're more so grateful for the freedom we have because you laid down your life, because you did everything possible so that we can be adopted into your family. We're not worthy, God, but we gladly and gratefully receive all that you have. As we open up your Word, I pray that you would speak to us. We're not searching for the wisdom of men, God. We don't just want information that makes us look intelligent. We want truth that sets us free. And it only comes from you, Lord. So meet with us. Speak to us. Let our hearts be ready to receive all that you have. Let it bear fruit to our feet so our faith can move forward. Holy Spirit, have your way in this place. Thank you, Jesus, for who you are. You're worthy. We give it all to you. In the name of Jesus, we thank you and pray. And all the people of God who are grateful, send. Come on, church. He's so good. Amen. You may have a seat. I want to welcome you once again to the

perfect place for imperfect people like us to experience the presence of God. I'm Eric, and what an honor it is on this day to be able to teach God's Word. It was raining this morning. It's a little bit cool outside. We have some sort of cloud covering. It's going to get a little bit hotter in the summer. But how many of us know the Lord knows what He's doing, right? You're grateful to live in sunny South Florida. It could be brutal somewhere. We could have a winter. We could be snowed in. But all we do is sweat. So I'll take that. I want to start today off with a thought experiment. I'm not going to ask you a question. I'm not going to quiz you. I want you to think about this for a moment. Imagine waking up tomorrow and finding out the thing that you built your whole life on wasn't true. How would that make you feel? What would that do to your life? I know it's difficult to imagine, but think about that. A few weeks ago our team, we were talking through the Mandela Effect. Do you know what the Mandela Effect is? Show of hands. Anyone know what the Mandela Effect is? Here's what it is. It's when a large number of people remember an event differently than how it actually happened. Let me give you an example. Are you aware that the Berenstain Bears were never called the Berenstain Bears? They were called the Berenstain Bears. That's what they're known as today and forever have been known as. I find that untrue, but apparently this is reality. Or what about realizing that the Queen song, We Are the Champions, doesn't end with the line of the world. Do you know that's not part of the song? Never was. But yet all of us we sing it like that. Or how about this one I found out this past week. It blew my mind. Did you know that Captain Kirk, Captain James Tiberius Kirk of the USS Enterprise, the NCC-1701. I'm a nerd. I'm a Trekkie. Did you know that he never once in all the films and every single show, he never once uttered the words, beam me up, Scotty. What? I feel like my world has has collapsed. Like everything I know to be true has been shaken. That's not what I'm talking about though. It's not a small little misunderstanding like that. It's not a little detail gone wrong. I'm talking about foundational truth all being shaken. The thing that shaped your worldview, that gave you your identity, that helped you craft your decisions, that gave you hope. All of it gone. All of it disproven. Again, how would that make you feel? I know for many, if not all of us, that's hard for us to imagine because we've never had something so foundational shifting, being taken away from us. But this is essentially what Paul is asking us in our reading today. He's speaking to the church in Corinth and he asks them, what if the resurrection never happens? And I love this because Paul doesn't avoid the difficult question. He walks straight into it. 1 Corinthians chapter 15 is where

where we find ourselves today. You can follow along on the screen or in your notes. Starting in verse 17, here's what it says. And if Christ has not been raised, he says your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins. Then those who have also fallen asleep in Christ, they have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. I want you to notice how bold Paul is, how honest he's being. He's not hedging his bets. He's not saying, listen, if Jesus didn't rise from the dead, then at least we had some good moral teachings, right? At least we had some good lessons to live by. At least we learned to love people. No, Paul says, if Jesus didn't rise from the dead, this whole thing falls apart. Everything we believe is worthless. Paul is speaking with bold honesty. And honestly, again, this is one of the reasons why our faith can be trusted. Because our faith in Jesus doesn't ask us to turn our brain off. Our faith in Jesus invites investigation. Paul is literally saying, if this didn't happen, don't pretend that it did. This is important because what we believe and what we build our life on,

it isn't based on fairy tales. It isn't fiction. It isn't blind optimism. Our faith is built upon and rooted in an actual historical event. I've titled today's teaching, Our Faith Is Not Futile. And what I wanna talk about today is the resurrection of Jesus. We sing about it, but I wanna talk about why it's more important than any of us actually realize. First thing I want you to write down is this. The resurrection is historically credible. In this series, Faith Forward, we're talking through apologetics. This is part of the reason why I'm sitting down today. We have a lot of information. It's a lot more teaching than preaching. But as we talk about apologetics, as we talk about a proof for our faith, the first thing I want you to know is the resurrection is historically credible. I wanna acknowledge this as we begin today. To say that Jesus rose from the grave is a wild, crazy statement, right? And let's be honest about it. To say that there's resurrection, there's life after death, that extraordinary claim requires evidence. And Paul, that's where he starts. Paul doesn't say, hey man, you just gotta believe it.

You just gotta have faith. Stop questioning, have faith. No, Paul, the first thing he talks about is eyewitnesses. Earlier in 1 Corinthians 15, he says, Jesus appeared to so many people after he resurrected. Look at what he says in 1 Corinthians 15, verses three through eight. He says, for I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, that he was buried and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas and to the 12. And then he appeared to more than 500 brothers all at one time, most of who are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James. And then to all the apostles, last of all, as to one untimely born, he also appeared to me. Now, when Paul writes this, this is roughly within 20 years of the resurrection of Jesus. And what Paul says, that means that most of the eyewitnesses were still alive during this time. So Paul says, don't just believe me, check the receipts, Google it. He says, ask them for yourself. Jesus came back from the dead.

I don't know if you're aware of this, since we're all good Christians, but that's not how lying works, right? Liars, they don't operate that way. When someone is lying, they don't invite investigation. That's why when your kid breaks something in the house, all of a sudden what happens? They become terrible investigators. What happened here? I don't know, dad. What do you mean you don't know? Why is the vase broken? I must've been before I got here. No, no, you're the only one here. You've been the only one in this house and you're holding a Nerf gun. And what is this? Seems like a Nerf broke this. I don't know, dad. Right, when you are not telling the truth, you don't invite investigation. But Paul, Paul says with so much confidence, go ask them. Don't just take my word for it. I don't know if you remember, week one when we started this teaching series, we said one of our goals is to grow in our confidence. I don't want us to simply believe that we have to walk around with blind faith. We have a solid foundation. And I want you to recognize.

Paul's confidence here. His confidence matters. Having confidence in what we believe matters. Even scholars who approach Christianity with skepticism, many of them have admitted that the evidence surrounding the resurrection of Jesus is not easy to explain away. Former atheist and investigative journalist Lee Strobel, he wrote this in his book called The Case for Christ. He said the resurrection of Jesus is one of the best attested evidence in ancient history. New Testament scholar and historian N.T. Wright, he wrote after years of studying the research on the resurrection, he said, this is why as historian I cannot explain the rise of early Christianity unless Jesus rose again leaving an empty tomb behind him. Those two statements, they are not hype statements by social media influencers. These are scholars who looked at all the historical evidence and concluded that the resurrection, it stands up under scrutiny. 2 Peter 1 16. Peter says, for we didn't follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. No, we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. Peter's even saying we were there. We saw him alive with our own eyes. This is important because Christianity didn't begin because people liked Jesus' teachings. Christianity began and grew and exploded because people were convinced that there was resurrection. People were convinced that Jesus came back from the dead. So here's what I want us to do. I want us to take a step back a little bit and I want us to look at the historical facts that even many skepticists, historical skeptics, largely agree on. This is important because again our faith is not built on blind faith, on blind belief. It's built on real events, on real history with real people. I want to give you five facts surrounding the resurrection of Jesus. Write this first one down. Fact one. Jesus was crucified under Pontius Pilate. Fact. He was crucified under Pontius Pilate. This is not just in the Bible. This is affirmed by Roman historians like Tacitus and Jewish historians like Josephus. Jesus really lived and Jesus really died. This isn't something that is scholarly debated anymore. There's all the evidence and proof that Jesus lived and he was crucified under Pontius Pilate. Fact number two. The tomb was empty. The tomb

was empty. This is important for us to understand. The earliest opponents of the church of Jesus, they didn't argue that he was still in the tomb. Do you remember what their argument was? Matthew 28, 12 through 15. While they were going, behold some of the guard, the guard that was supposed to guard the tomb where Jesus' dead body lay, they went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave them a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers. They bribed them and said, tell people his disciples came by night and stole him away while we were still asleep. And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will satisfy him and you'll be out of trouble because you didn't do your job. So they took the money and they did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day. What was their argument? The disciples took the body away. They stole his body. Here's a little bit of logic. That, that argument only works if the tomb was empty. Right? You don't claim something was stolen if it's literally still there. The tomb was empty. Fact number three. Write this down. The disciples believed that they saw Jesus alive after his death. And this is huge because they saw something that completely transformed them. Do you remember before the resurrection what happened? They were terrified. They were afraid. They scattered. Peter, bold Peter, who cut off the ear of one of the high priest's servants. He denied Jesus publicly three times. He was afraid. The disciples, they fled. But then suddenly, after the resurrection, these fearful men, what are they found doing? They're found boldly proclaiming, boldly preaching, Jesus is alive! In the same place, the same city where he was killed and crucified. How does that happen? Why does that transformation take place? I can tell you. People can fake passion for a little while. Maybe some people, you know, they can fake confidence. If you just walk into, here's a pro tip. You walk into a room and you don't say anything, you limit your opportunities to look dumb.

You just, yeah, yeah, that's a good idea. They can fake confidence. People can fake passion and start talking like Ned Flanders when everything is going well in their life. But here's what doesn't happen. Fear doesn't suddenly become courage overnight unless you've been transformed, unless something has fundamentally changed. Think about it. These guys did not receive anything for this message. They got no money. They got no power. They got no place of position in the temple or in the government. No, in fact, the opposite. They were beaten. They were imprisoned. They suffered for what they said about Jesus being alive. Many of them were put to death. Yet they kept on proclaiming, we saw him. We saw Jesus alive. They didn't say, we go to a really good church and we like it. They didn't say, man, I learned a lot of spiritual lessons through this Messiah, this teacher. No, they said, we saw him alive. I know in history, people will die for what they believe is true. Okay, that's given. Today, we are celebrating this weekend

of men and women who died for their belief that in America, we should have freedom to believe and to worship. But you know what doesn't happen? People don't consistently suffer. People don't consistently experience persecution and ultimately lay down their life for something that they know they made up. Something took away these disciples' fear of death. What was it? It was a resurrection. It was resurrection life. Fact number four, write this down. Paul converted to following Christ. Paul, this is wild because Paul wasn't a casual skeptic. He was actively pursuing Christians. He was hunting them down. He had them imprisoned. He approved their executions. And then suddenly, he has a change of mind. Suddenly, he becomes one of the biggest proponents and the loudest proclaimers of the good news of Jesus in history. Why? How does that happen? In his own words, he experienced the risen Lord for himself. And then what happened after that? He suffered for the rest of his life because of that belief.

2 Corinthians 11, I want you to go home and read. It's not gonna be up on our screens. It's a fascinating chapter that tells us all about Paul's life post-belief. It says that he was shipwrecked multiple times. He was beaten, he was scourged, he was whipped. He was in prison for many years. Eventually, Paul dies. That's not the profile of someone protecting a comfortable eye, right? No, no, he knew something. Fact number five. James, the earthly brother of Jesus, believed that Jesus was the Son of God. This one's huge to me. During Jesus's ministry on earth, James didn't believe him. Are you aware of that? In fact, the Bible says his family, they thought he was crazy for what he was saying. Mark 3, 21, when his family heard it, they went out to seize them for they were saying, he's out of his mind. Don't hurt him, he's a little bit crazy. He doesn't know what he's talking about. Think about that. Can we blame him for not believing that his brother was the Son of God? What would your sibling have to do to convince you they are the Son of God?

Steve, what would your brother have to do to convince you that he's the Son of the Most High God? It's crazy, right? It's impossible. We know these people, we grew up with them. We know their story. I remember one time, my brother, he took a remote control and he used it to scratch his bare back, like, oh, yeah, it feels, and then puts it on the counter, like, do you expect us to touch that now? You're disgusting. Chino Cochino, like, what's wrong with you, man? My other brother, I can't get this image out of my head. I saw him one time biting his toenails. I will never thank him. He's the Son of God! That's gross! But yet, James, what happens after the resurrection? He becomes a leader for the church. He ultimately lays down his life for his faith that Jesus is the Savior and the Son of God. Why? Something changed. Something changed with the resurrection. Now, skeptics, they've tried to explain these facts. Some have said that maybe it was all just a hallucination. But hallucinations, they're typically individual experiences, right? 500 people don't collectively have the same hallucination

all at the same time. And even if we grant them that, hallucinations don't explain empty tombs, right? Others have said, well, maybe Jesus didn't actually die. Remember, it takes a whole lot of faith to be an atheist. Jesus lived, Jesus died. It's historically proven. But that would have to make us believe that these Roman centurions, these Roman executioners, they failed at their job. These people who were so proficient at death that they missed somebody, that they scourged him, they beat him, they crucified him, they stuck him in the side with a spear and blood and plasma poured out of his body. And then they put him in a tomb. And somehow he woke up from that, rolled away a very heavy stone, defeated the Roman guards who were standing watch, and then convinced 500 plus people just a few days later with no blood, with no scabs, just scars that have already formed healed on his hands. If that happened, that would be the greatest UFC comeback in history. I'd pay 100 bucks for that on pay-per-view. I would absolutely spend the money to watch that. But that's not a resurrection. Others said the disciples made it all up. I don't know if you've ever gone down the interwebs

and found conspiracy theories. Like some people sound crazy because here's the thing. There's a motivation behind conspiracies, right? Like what did they gain? Again, nothing. They got poverty, they got persecution, they got execution. What did they gain? What was their motivation to lie and to lay down their life? And you're telling me that all of these people all of these eyewitnesses for decades were consistent with this story. Nobody cracked. Nobody recanted under the pressure of persecution and imprisonment said, okay, okay, we're making it up. No. Let me tell you what the simplest explanation is. It's a message that they were still preaching with boldness until they died. Jesus rose from the grave. Jesus resurrected. I want you to write this down. The resurrection is the core of our faith. This is where it gets personal for us. It's the core of our faith. First Corinthians 15, 17 again, it says, and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile. And you're still in your sins. That word futile, it means empty, it means pointless.

It means it has no use. You know what separates our faith in Jesus from every other world religion? Our faith in Jesus is not primarily built on good moral teachings. Our faith in Jesus is primarily built upon a historical event. Christianity doesn't rise or fall based off of good advice. It rises or it falls based on an empty tomb. So if we remove the resurrection, then we don't have Christianity as disciples clearly communicated it. What we're left with is just the words of a crucified teacher who did not accomplish what he claimed to. I don't know if you saw Terminator 2. Arnold Schwarzenegger, he plays the T-800. He has this very famous line. He says, I'll be back, I'll be back. That would be like if he didn't come back. The rest, why are we watching this movie? What a terrible ending, what a dumb movie. That's what it'd be like. I want you to understand that the resurrection of Jesus isn't an add-on that we get for Christianity. No, it's the engine that drives all of it. Picture a car, right? Whatever car. Your favorite car, your dream car. You take the engine out of that car.

It still looks nice, right? You can still polish it. You can still sit in it. You can still display it in your garage. But you get in that car, you can't go anywhere with it. Why? Because the engine has been removed. There's no power to move forward. That's what the resurrection is. Without the resurrection, there's no power for our faith to move forward. The resurrection is what drives our hope. It's what drives our salvation, our confidence, our worship, our future. Everything that we believe runs on the fact that Jesus rose from the grave. That Jesus resurrected. That's not simply a nice theological claim that Paul mentions in passing. No, the resurrection is so crucial, so central to our faith that Paul actually ties it to our salvation. You've heard us share this verse several times throughout the history of this church. Romans 10, nine, it says, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, that he's the son of, he's not just your homeboy, he's not your best friend, he's God's. He's the Lord of lords. And you believe in your heart that what?

That God raised him from the dead. Then you will be saved. Paul doesn't say believe that Jesus was a good teacher. Believe that Jesus was a good man. That he was the best prophet. To believe that you have a really nice church that you're committed to. No, he says salvation is tied to the resurrection. The cross, the cross proves his love that he would lay down his life, but the resurrection that proves his victory. That's heaven's proclamation that he is who he says he is. The resurrection, it's the core of our faith. And again, Paul's, his logic is ruthless in its honesty. He says without the resurrection, our sins are still upon us. Without the resurrection, death wins. Without the resurrection, any hope that we would have, it ends at the grave. Here's how he says it, verse 19. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people, all people, most to be pitied. And that's truth. Paul is essentially saying if Jesus didn't rise from the dead, all of us in this room were dummies. Turn to your neighbor, tell him that. Say, if Jesus didn't rise from the dead, you're a dummy. You can say that in church. His honesty is brutal, I love it, because it's the truth.

If Jesus didn't rise from the dead, why are we here? Why did we wake up early and put on our best and come with an offering and sing these songs? We could have stayed home. We could be eating avocado toast and sipping Mai Tais, right? We could be eating cinnamon rolls on our couch at home, watching a rated R movie on a Sunday morning. Instead, we're here, or we're worshiping a dead guy, or we're serving, we're giving, we're forgiving people we don't wanna forgive. Why? If Jesus isn't alive, we've wasted our life following a dead man when we should have been wasted ourselves. That's the reality of it. Eat, drink, and be merry. Tomorrow we die, that's it. We're losers. We're pobrecitos. But we know that's not true, right? After that, Paul says three of the most powerful words in the New Testament. He says, but in fact. Verse 20, but in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. That changes everything. If Jesus rose from the dead, then sin has been defeated.

If Jesus rose from the dead, then death has no power over our lives and our hope is alive, amen? That was a weak amen. No, no, no, no, don't say it again. Don't say it unless you believe it. No, no, stop. Because amen means so be it. And when we say amen, that means this is what I believe and this is how I will live my life. See, the evidence is out there. It's not just in the word. It's all throughout history. Do the research. The evidence is in. Part of what we believe farther than against it. But there are many Christians who believe the resurrection historically, but not practically. If Jesus really walked out of the grave, why are we still living like we're so afraid? Why do we keep this good news to ourself? Why are we sharing the answer to life and death with the people that we love? Oh, we celebrate the resurrection so big on Easter Sunday. What about the rest of the year? We sing about it this Sunday, but what about tomorrow? Why are we living in fear? So many of us, we quote scripture all night. Here's the verse of the day, God bless you. But then when culture shifts, we start living in anxiety.

Oh my gosh, I ran. Oh, what's happening? Oh, a new policy. We believe it historically, great. But what about living it out practically? The early church didn't explode because they were trendy. They didn't have cool facilities and post stuff on TikTok in really cool ways with different backgrounds. No, the reason that the early church changed the world is because they actually believed Jesus was alive. Church, we can't claim resurrection power if we're living spiritually asleep. We can't claim Christ when we live like the rest of culture that people can't distinguish us from anybody else. Jesus didn't rise from the grave so we can casually come to church a few Sundays out of the month and call it discipleship. No, he rose so we can walk in new life, so we can walk in boldness, so we can walk in holiness, so we can walk in purity, so we can walk in generosity, so we can walk in confidence. You want confidence? Listen to Romans 8.11. If the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Jesus Christ from the dead will also give life, life, and life abundantly, John 10.10 says, life to your mortal bodies through his spirit who dwells in you. You know what that means? The resurrection changes everything.

Write that third thing down. The resurrection changes everything 1 Corinthians 15.20, but in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. The firstfruits, say firstfruits, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. Paul called Jesus the firstfruits. In the Old Testament, firstfruits, they were the first part of the harvest. What firstfruits were, they were a preview. They were a proclamation, listen to this, that there will be more coming. Do you get that? So when Paul calls Jesus the firstfruits of the resurrection he's saying that Jesus' resurrection isn't an isolated incident. He's saying more will come, amen. He's saying Jesus' resurrection is a preview for ours. Do you know what that means? That means that the grave has been defeated. That means that death has no more power over our lives, any word, any more. Death does not have the final words. This is why Christians have lived with such boldness throughout history. They're saying, you wanna threaten me with a good time? You wanna threaten me with death, with heaven? For me to live is Christ, but to die is gain. I'm not afraid of death. First Peter 1, three through four,

blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope, a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance. It's what we get that is imperishable, undefiled and unfading, kept in heaven for you. Paul wrote these words to believers facing persecution, suffering uncertainty. These weren't people who were living comfortable lives. These were people who were suffering, who were being pressured, who were being in prison, who were being rejected, many of whom were killed for their faith. And what does Peter point them to? The resurrection. Peter calls a resurrection, he calls it a living hope. It's a living hope. Not a, not a fake hope. Not a temporary hope. Not a dead hope. He says our hope, no matter what's happening, our hope is alive. Our hope is alive. Why? Because Jesus is alive. And whatever's happening right now, we have the first fruits. We know that resurrection is coming. Amen? Some of us, we need to stop talking and living like our Savior is still dead. We serve a resurrected King. Amen? Too many of us, we act like God lost. I'm worried. What's going to happen? We live anxiously like the tomb is still occupied. We talk hopeless, like the story is over. No. Jesus is alive. And because He's alive, we don't have to live defeated anymore. The resurrection should and does change everything. The resurrection, it should be a place that we live our lives from,

not simply a doctrine that we believe. The resurrection changes how we experience pain because suffering is no longer meaningless. It changes how we face death because our eternity is now secure. It changes how we approach every day of our future because it's held in the hands of a risen Savior. Can I tell you, this is why our enemy tries so hard to keep us asleep. To try so hard to make us discouraged and isolated. Because he knows that hopeless Christians stop praying bold prayers. Stop worshiping boldly. Hopeless Christians stop believing that God can do impossible things. But when we truly believe the resurrection, not only that Jesus resurrected, but one day we will as well. We worship freer, right? We pray bolder. We trust deeper. We serve stronger. We suffer in sickness differently. The resurrection, it changes everything. My mom, she has struggled and suffered with rheumatoid arthritis for almost 40 years. And in all that pain, the example that she's given to me and my siblings is that her God is worthy of all praise. This morning, she woke up in pain at 5 a.m. to pray. Something she has done almost every day since surrendering her life to Jesus. I've seen the example that whenever God gives finances to my mom, she gives at least half of it away. She gives generously because she knows that there's a resurrection and there's an eternity after this. And she doesn't want to store her treasures on this earth where rust destroys and moths eat up. She wants to give generously so that people can know Jesus. My mom, she prays often, she prays early, and she prays for a long time on her knees. Despite the pain in her body because she knows that the prayers of God's people produces great results. And my mom, facing death several times, has said to me on and on and over again, she says, Eric, the day that I die, I want everyone to celebrate. Because I am no longer weak, I am no longer sick, I am healed in my Savior's hands. We need something more than theoretical. We need something more than historical. We need something that's strong enough to support us through all the pain. All the people that we love that we have lost. And the resurrection gives us that hope.

Today has been a day of hope. Today we got to celebrate people taking a step of obedience and being baptized like Jesus. And baptism, baptism is a symbol of the good news. It's a symbol of the gospel of Jesus. Romans 6, 4, let me read this passage. It says, when we were buried, therefore, with him by baptism into death, in order, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. That's what the baptism waters represent. We go down underneath that, and our old life, all of our sin has been washed away. All of it has been buried. It's gone. We come back up cleansed, whole, healed, walking in newness of life that comes from Him. Today, as we conclude, if there is something heavy on your shoulders, heavy in your mind, heavy on your heart, don't leave here with it. If you need resurrection life for something that is dead today, His presence is here and He wants to give you. He wants you to experience the power of resurrection. I'm gonna ask our prayer partners to come forward right now. And as we sing this final song, I wanna invite you to come. Don't carry that. Lay it down at the foot of the cross where He died, and where He rose again, so that sin and death can all be defeated. Today, you can lay down whatever burden you have, and we wanna pray with you. We wanna bless you.

We wanna celebrate you. And as we stand to our feet right now, and as we sing this final song, don't just mutter words. Don't just stare out at the screens. Don't just listen to the words of singers singing. Build your life upon it. Declare it loudly. Declare it with confidence. The resurrected King, He's resurrecting me, amen. Father, I thank you so much for your presence. I thank you for the promise and the power of your resurrection, because you're alive. We can be alive because you were resurrected from the grave, God. Everything that is dead can come back to life. It seems impossible for man, but nothing is impossible for you, Lord. So we trust you. We come to you right now, Lords, and we declare that we will be forever changed because you are alive. Thank you, Jesus, for what you're doing and for what you will do in this place. We declare your resurrection in and through our lives. In your name we pray. And all the people of God said, your name, your name is victory. Come forward in prayer. Lay that burden down and declare the resurrected King.

He's resurrecting us in this place. Your name, your name is victory. All praise will rise to Christ our King. Oh, yes. Oh, your name is victory. And feel the hell dust now gives way to Him who gives our peace. His final breath upon a cross is now alighting. Sing your name, come on. Your name, your name is victory. All praise will rise to Christ our King. Your name, your name is victory. All praise will rise to Christ our King. Your name, your name is victory. All praise will rise to Christ our King. Your name, your name is victory. All praise will rise to Christ our King. By your Spirit I will rise from the ashes and defeat. The resurrected King is resurrecting me. In your name I come alive to declare your victory. The resurrected King. By your Spirit I will rise from the ashes and defeat. The resurrected King is resurrecting me. In your name I come alive. ♪ To declare Your victory ♪ ♪ The resurrected King is resurrecting me ♪ ♪ By Your Spirit I will rise from the ashes of defeat ♪ ♪ The resurrected King is resurrecting me ♪ ♪ In Your name I come alive to declare Your victory ♪

♪ The resurrected King is resurrecting me ♪ Come on, give Him a praise today. Thank You, Lord.