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Talk about he has risen, right? And tonight we're going to, I'm gonna set things up more like a courtroom setting tonight. But before we get into that, I need a male and a female volunteer because we're gonna start a little court before we get to that. So give me a, all right, come on, got my female right here, let's go. All right, you good? Come on, Lane, let's go. Grab that microphone on that speaker right there. All right, one of you on this side, one of you on that side. Here you go. All right, so, no, you hold the mic, I don't need it. You know how to turn it on? All right, little button right there, you'll press it up. Yeah, you know how to turn that one on? I think it's on already. Hello? Yeah, check yours. Hello, hello? All right, all right, we're good. So, all right, tonight we're gonna talk about the case for the resurrection. But before we get there, I'm gonna give both of these two an opportunity to plead a case, right? And you're gonna be the jury.

I'm gonna be the judge, you're the jury. And so what I'm gonna do is, we're gonna start over here because we go ladies first. I'm going to give a top, I'm gonna ask a question, and there's gift cards involved, just so you know. I'm gonna ask you a question, and you're gonna have 30 seconds to defend your decision on the question. So either you agree it is or you agree it is not. You got 30 seconds to defend that. And then you're gonna have 15 seconds to rebuttal it. Got it? All right, you ready? Come on in here, get closer, get up here. Y'all get up front so they can see y'all. All right, so first question is, are y'all ready? First question is pineapple acceptable on pizza. You'll have 30 seconds on go to get, okay, so hold on, hold on. And you'll give your opinion, and then you're gonna have to rebuttal whatever decision she makes. All right, you ready? Let me hold up, let me get my watch out, and my clock out right here. All right, she's ready, hold up, hold up. She is, all right, go. All right, pineapple should not be on pizza, all right? It's literally like a fruit.

Why should it be on pizza? Like, hello? And then you, like I tried it the first time, I was like, it was nasty, it was nasty on there. I don't know how else to defend it, that it's just nasty on there. It does not need to be on there. It should be like on a sahi bowl or like literally anything else. Should not, it should not. Also, it doesn't cook well. I mean, it's gonna be all nasty when it comes on there if you don't cook it enough. All right, stop. All right, you got 15 seconds to rebuttal that. And I'm not the jury. You guys are gonna decide who did the best, right? All right, are you ready, Lane? All right, go. Pineapple should be on pizza. Have you tried it with bacon and ham? It's pretty good, pretty good. Gotta get butter garlic sauce too. Yeah. Just take the pineapple. No, gotta leave the pineapple on. Get thin crust. It's the best. All right, stop. All right, so, hold on, hold on.

So if you think Kelsey had the better case, let's give a round for her if you believe she had the best case. Yeah, guys. Yeah. All right, if you believe Lane had a better rebuttal, let's hear it for Lane. Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Lane, I'm gonna have to give that one to Lane, I think. Okay, next question. Next question. Hey, I'm the judge, remember that. I'm the judge. Oh, no. All right, so next question. Lane, you know what? I'm gonna switch this up. Okay. I'm gonna switch this one up because this is not gonna go in the order that I wanted to starting with ladies first. So we're gonna stay with you for a second. All right, you get the case of, should the guy always pay on the first date? So I have to say yes or no to that? Yeah, yes or no.

You have to say one of the two. And you got to support your claim. Are you ready? You ain't ready. I don't know, I've mixed feelings about it. Yeah, mixed feelings? Well, pick one. Because I'm like, if, like, don't order the whole menu. Like, if you're with someone- Okay, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on. Even like, you actually buy something that's like 10, $15, that's okay, you know? Okay, but listen, you're not pleading to me. The jury's out here. The jury's out here. All right, so you got to pick one. Yes or no, they should. Go. I don't think they should because I think you should do it half. Halfsies, honestly, the first one should be halfsies. Unless it's like not an expensive restaurant and you're like going to McDonald's. Like if you're going to McDonald's, they should pay for all of it. But let's just say we're at an expensive restaurant. You should halfsies. Like it's a $100 restaurant, then you should do halfsies on that.

But that's just me. Depends, it really just depends on how the guy, you know, acts to, like if they bring, if they bring like coffee. All right, that's good, stop. Then yeah. What's your question? It don't matter who asks, it don't matter who asks who. Should the guy always pay on the first date? I don't know if they should, honestly. Huh? I don't know. Okay, well here you go, Roberta. Microphone, use the mic. I gotta use the microphone? Yeah, you gotta use the microphone. No, no, no, no, I need a microphone. Okay. Yes, a guy should pay on the first date because if they don't, then what are they showing by not paying on the first date? They should also bring flowers, too. It's the right thing to do. Yes. I agree. I agree with both, but I have a hard time making decisions. All right, you're done, you're good. I agree with both, but I have to pick on both sides. Listen, there ain't a wrong or right answer here. Well, depending on who you are.

So, Kelsey? Halfsies. Lane? Do that one. All right, Lane. Now, you have got to present your case. Here's the question. Is cereal soup, is cereal soup? All right, you ready? All right, let's go. Y'all listen up, y'all listen up. Cereal is not a soup because first, you put the cereal in, you mix it with the milk, and then you gotta eat your breakfast. Breakfast is the most important part of the meal of the day. Therefore, you need cereal to make your day better. It's got more nutrients and stuff. All right, Kelsey, are you ready? I'm ready. All right, hold on, Kelsey's ready. All right. All right, listen up. All right, ready, go. He said no, right? Or is? He said it's not a soup. Shoot. Well, then it is a soup then. I mean, you put as much milk in there as possible, it's basically soup.

If you're putting more liquid with a solid, then it's basically liquid, you know? I personally don't have cereal because of how much milk, but if you're gonna put all the milk and green earth in there, you do it, you know? All right, stop. And then it soaks it up. So listen, remember when I asked you, I'm not asking you do you agree with him, I'm asking you who presented the better case right here. So, if you feel Lane presented the better case, not did you agree with him, did he present the better case, then give me a sound for Lane, let's go. All right. If you believe Kelsey presented her case better, let's hear it for her. All right. And listen, I didn't. All right, here's the last one. That's good, here's the last one. We're starting with you again, Lane. Is church necessary or optional? Ooh, I hear oohs and ahs. Huh? Lane, is it? It's optional to some people, but for a lot of people. No, no, no, no, that's why I asked you. Is it? It's about me. Is it for you?

Yes, church is necessary for me because I actually come with my family and stuff and when they wasn't going to church, I still figured out a way to get to church, even though I personally did not have a ride. I would figure it out as I went. Good, good. All right, Kelsey. Is church? I would agree with the same thing. I don't, I don't. Put your mic up, let me hear your mic. Well, my parents think it's optional, how about that? Parents think it's optional to come to church or not, even though they're the ones that wanted me to go to the church and then they don't come. But I don't think it's not an option. You should come to church, get closer with God, you know, socialize with people, be around people that make you feel closer to him. That's like the whole point. That's my opinion. All right. All right, if you believe Lane presented his case better, let's hear it for Lane. What about Kelsey? All right. Hey, you can turn those mics off. I appreciate you guys. offstage Brenda's got two $15 gift well a $15 gift card to Buffalo Wild Wings

which I missed that in my announcements but in case you forgot after next Buffalo Wild Wings if you want to have a little more fellowship so we go hang out after that so if you would like to join us for more fellowship we're doing that after next all right let's move into the message so you know what's interesting is we all have opinions about things like that right but when it comes to Jesus we get scared to give those opinions and we hesitate to examine the evidence right and I use that option while I use the it just hit me with the thought process of we always have opinions about things that we feel confident about right whether it be true to the other person or not what it what was one of the things Lane said he was like well to some people it is no what is it to you right so I want to ask you something have you ever had someone maybe a friend or a roommate say to you I just don't buy it right and what I'm talking about is the story of Jesus anybody ever asked you that none of your friends have ever asked you I just don't buy have mercy oh we got a lot of Saints up in here I love it y'all must be all hanging out with Saints cuz I've asked a question myself before I asked the question am I just drinking the Kool-Aid and I'm talking about in the last five years so I haven't been on this walk along with Jesus right so for me I am a matter-of-fact type person and what does that mean to you I don't know but what it means to me is well you got to show me sometimes you know are you I talked about it today with someone that my wife is a blind faith person doesn't matter she she believes in Jesus it don't matter what she never had to be she never had to have Jesus show her anything blind faith and that's good I'm glad some of you are blind faith not everybody in the room is blind faith to include me right so what I want to talk about tonight is is the historical proof that would support the resurrection of Jesus and look I get it we're in a world where we fact-check everything and man after AI has come out you got a fact-check everything because I'm not gonna lie I was at work one day and I saw this video of toilets flying out over Tennessee from and the story was an Air Force plane and I was like man the porcelain toilets falling like that Steve said it's AI I was like bro that

got me so good man so if you if you know like I know it's hard to believe anything you see would y'all agree with that so I'm not going to ask you to take my word for this tonight right I'm not going to well I'm going to ask you to fact-check everything I tell you tonight for your own self I want you to fact check it biblically biblically and then I want you to go to historically in fact-checks the things I'm gonna tell you tonight but initially we're gonna be in Luke 24 tonight and what I've discovered is the resurrection of Jesus isn't just a faith claim it's mostly historically verified as the biggest comeback story in human history and tonight whether you believe this your whole life or you ain't been sure we're gonna lay it all out for you I say we me since I'm the only one up here but I'm gonna lay it all out for you so I want you to turn to Luke 24 one through six if you got your Bible I encourage you to do it it'll be up on the screen if you don't have your Bible with you but hey just a to pass vision like we leave the light zone in here for you to take notes and for you to be able to look at your Bible so I'd encourage you if you don't have and this is not on my notes but if you don't have a hardback Bible get you one because what you have this right here is a distraction it's a distraction when you're trying to read the Bible and I saying you can't do it and some of you are pretty good at it and maybe you put your phone on do not disturb and all the things but if I get alert coming through I'm like let me see what that is right when I got just the book in front of me it's less distractions for me so but on we're gonna talk about the resurrection right but on the first day of the week at early dawn they went to the tomb taking the spices they had prepared and they found the stone rolled away from the tomb but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus while they were perplexed about this behold two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, why do you seek the living among the dead? He's not here, but he is risen. Remember how he told you why he was still in Galilee? Three words changed the world, he is risen. I'm gonna give you my first

exhibit tonight. Remember I told you it's a courtroom, you're the jury tonight. Exhibit A is the death of Jesus. Point number one tonight is even his enemies confirmed he died. I was doing research this week and looking at other religious beliefs. Across the board they believe that Jesus lived. History says Jesus lived. And history that I'm about to go into tells you even other religions believe that he was crucified, right? Even the Muslim faith believes that Jesus was a good man, right? So some of you are thinking, okay, but wasn't the Bible written by people? How do we know it wasn't changed over centuries? Well, great question, let's talk about the manuscripts real quick. This is how historians evaluate ancient documents. Now remember, fact-check everything I tell you. They look at how many copies exist, they look how close are the earliest copies of the original writing written, and how consistent are the copies with each other. So let's apply that standard to the documents we all accept as historical facts. Caesar's Gallic Wars, right? And this is not up here but I'm gonna read them to you. There was nine to ten manuscripts, the earliest copy is 950 years after Caesar wrote it, but history trusted completely. Plato's writings. Seven manuscripts, there was a gap of 1,300 years, required reading in universities worldwide. If you're in college and you've heard of Plato, raise your hand. Okay. Tacitus, about 20 manuscripts, there's a gap of a thousand years, and this is the same Tacitus who confirms the crucifixion, and we'll get into him in a minute. Homer's Lyod, about 1,900 manuscripts, there's a gap of 400 years, and it's the best attested ancient text until you get to the New Testament. So let's talk about the New Testament. I just gave you those numbers, right? Well the New Testament, there's over 5,800 Greek manuscripts alone for the New Testament. You add Latin, Coptic, Syriac, and other languages, there's nearly 25,000 total copies. The earliest fragment is the Rylands Papyrus P52, which is a piece of the Gospel of John, and it dates back to around AD 125. Everybody know what AD is? Okay, after death. That's within 30 years of when John wrote this. So textual scholars estimate the New Testament manuscripts are 99.5% consistent across all copies. The difference are spelling variations and

word order, not core doctrine is affected. So if you're out here and you're thinking, well why there's so many translations in the Bible? Well I'm glad you asked that. Because I use this analogy of if I sat out here with each and every one in this room, and somebody told us, alright we're gonna count the next 500 cars that come through, and we're gonna explain in detail every car. If you don't know what a Ford is, and I don't know what a Prius is, are we gonna describe it the same way? No, but we're gonna be pretty close. If it's a blue car, four wheels, four windows, all those things, right? So that's the analogy that I like to use, that I've used in some of our chats in school, that it's not that the core information is different, it was just the point of view that everyone was sitting at during the time. So, and let's add one more thing. If you ain't read the book of Isaiah, read the book of Isaiah. In 1947, archaeologists discovered the Dead Sea Scrolls. It included a complete scroll of the book of Isaiah. It was written around a hundred BC, BC before Christ. That scroll is a thousand years older than any previously known copy of Isaiah. And when scholars compared it to modern translations, it's matched almost word-for-word, right? So, you tell me. If we're going by the code that historians use to prove something, if we believe Plato is true, with the least amount of numbers of manuscripts, this far outweighs any of that. So, in Isaiah 53, the passage describes a suffering servant who was pierced for our transgressions. It's unchanged, intact, and it was written 700 years before Jesus was born. So, history, historians have confirmed that that was written before Jesus even came. Sounds like a prophecy, right? So, how did they know this if this wasn't spoken by God? Because he just didn't think it up and all these things come to play, right? See, that's not faith, that's archaeology. That's science that so many love to say. And you know I want to add that in there. Let's talk about science and history. And once again, I'm a matter-of-fact person. I'm trying to debunk any theory you got with science or history. The more you dig into the scripture and the more you match it to history, the Bible doesn't confirm it, it confirms the Bible. So, let's talk about in a case. Before I

started in ministry, I was going for criminal justice, so I want to be a crime scene investigator. So, I like the court shows and stuff like that. So, let's talk about the hostile witness for Jesus, to the death of Jesus. So, witness one is who we're gonna call, and that's Tacitus. Tacitus was Rome's greatest historian. He had zero love for Christianity. Go look him up. He called it a destructive superstition, but around AD 116, after the death, he wrote this. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilate. So, the extreme penalty in the Roman times is a polite term for he was crucified, because that was the means that they used. So, this is a Roman historian who's writing to a Roman audience. He has no reason to help the Christian cause, but he's confirming that Jesus was executed under Pontius Pilate. That's exactly what the Gospels say, right? Witness number two, Josephus, who is a Jewish historian who also confirmed the same event. So, let's put, let's bring his evidence into play. So, our first piece of evidence tonight is the Babylonian Talmud. This was a Jewish document. Jewish leaders were the ones who handed Jesus over to be crucified. They are historically the last people you would expect to confirm the Gospel. And yet the Talmud records that Jesus was hanged on the eve of the Passover, and being hanged mean he was crucified, he was hung on the cross. On the eve of the Passover, that's exactly what John 19 tells us happened. So, your opponents don't accidentally confirm your story unless it actually happened, right? Witness number three is Thallus. He was a Greco-Roman historian who was writing around AD 52. He wrote a three-volume chronicle. He's known for trying to provide a naturalistic explanation for the darkness on the day of the crucifixion. So, if you read your Bible, darkness came upon, right? So, this is the guy who's trying to plead that there's a good answer for what happened. So, he even goes on to call it a solar eclipse. This is perhaps the most earliest secular reference to Jesus. Thallus tried to explain away the darkness that fell over the land once again with a solar eclipse. He didn't say there was no darkness, and he didn't say that it didn't happen. He

tried to explain it. So, if it didn't happen, why is he even trying to explain it? So, here's the bottom line of point one. You have Roman historians who confirmed it. You have Jewish sources that confirm it, you have pagan philosophers that try to explain it, and not one voice in the ancient world says Jesus didn't die. Well I got news for you, that's the first part of our case, but the question wasn't even about did Jesus die. Because there's proof of that, plenty of proof of that. The debate happens at the resurrection. So what happened after? And I told you guys that I'm a matter-of-fact person and I don't want you to ignore facts. God created you the way he created you, to think for yourself. Don't let wolves lead you around, right? Think for yourself. I love that, I love this generation that you do think for yourself, all right? Stop letting the government, stop letting your friends, stop letting people that ain't led by Jesus tell you how, what, when, and where you should do things. Because the word is in the Bible, and it's the God-breathed word. So that brings us to the piece of Scripture that should stop every one of us in our tracks. So now let's go to Isaiah 53, verse 3 through 5. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and as one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised and he was esteemed, him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our inequities, upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. Remember Isaiah wrote that approximately 700 years before Jesus was born. History will tell you that they found what Isaiah wrote, and historians will tell you that it's actual artifacts. Well Adam, I still don't believe. Well, I'm okay, good. Let's talk about that. Let's consider Psalm 22. It was written by David around a thousand BC, a full 500 years before the crucifixion was even invented as a method of execution. And it describes hands and feet being pierced, garments divided by lot. So now you don't have Isaiah and you don't have David talking about it. Hundreds of years before it

even happened. So David's telling you about a system that is going to crucify the one true King and that system ain't even been created yet. That's crazy, I'm just saying. See, the cross wasn't a surprise, it was a plan from the beginning. Let's give Exhibit B, the empty tomb. Here's our crime scene. Now this is where it gets real good. Point number two, nobody could explain the empty tomb. So now we move from the death to the resurrection, right? I need you to understand that the question was never, did he die? It was whether the tomb was empty. I mean the question was never was the tomb empty. See, everyone agreed the tomb was empty as well. No one argued the tomb wasn't empty, even from the Romans. So the entire debate was about him being buried in a tomb, so there was a large stone that was rolled in front of the tomb, there were Roman guards posted to protect it, and I don't know what you know about history, but that's not a light order that was given. Like, you guard this, you don't do your job, you die. They would kill guards back for not doing their job back then. A Roman seal was put on this. Now, I'm not a hundred percent sure what that seal was, but they sealed it up so that people would know that the Roman Empire has put this here, you better not touch it. And if you do, there'll be serious consequences. So Matthew 28 2 through 4, it's not up there, I added this late, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning and his clothes white as snow, and for fear of him the guards trembled like dead men. We'll get to those guards in a moment. Matthew 28 11 through 15, this is up here, but you can turn to it. While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priest all that had taking place. And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers and said, tell people his disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep. And if it comes to the governor's ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble. So they took the money and they did as they were directed and the story has been spread among the Jews to this day. So the Jewish chief priest, the ones who

crucified Jesus, did not say the tomb was still occupied. They did not say go check it, the body's there, go back, it's there, you missed it. Wrong tomb. They bribed the guards to fabricate a story. And then to blame it on the disciples, we're gonna get to that in a minute, the disciples were running scared. The Messiah, who they believed to be the Messiah, has died at this point. And they didn't even expect that to happen, so guess what? Now they're fearing for their lives. So the disciples ain't there because they running scared and hiding and all the things. So now think about where they were. The resurrection was first proclaimed in Jerusalem, in the very city where Jesus was buried. Anyone who wanted to disapprove could literally walk to the tomb and prove it for themselves. The Jewish leaders had every motive and every resource to produce a body to show that he was dead. If that body had been produced, that would have ended Christianity before it ever started. So let's talk about our first witness. Then there's a matter of who found the tomb, the empty tomb. All four Gospels agree that women were the first witness to the resurrection. And ladies, I'm glad we're in the times we're in now for you, because it's a lot better than the women were treated in the Roman era. So in first-century Jewish and Roman culture, women's testimony was not accepted in the court of law. You had no voice that time. That's what that meant. Your testimony didn't matter. You come in, nobody cared, right? It had zero value. So if the disciples were making up a story to start a movement, why would they use women as their star witness? Because you're not even credible during this moment. So now, get with me right here. I'm trying to start a movement about the resurrection of Jesus, so I'm gonna tell that women found the tomb and women have no credibility. Hmm. You be the judge. See, this kind of detail doesn't invent, it's actually embarrassing to their case back then. And it's exactly why historians believe it. So Exhibit C, the eyewitness testimonies. 1 Corinthians 15, 3 through 8. For I delivered you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures. That he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that

he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve, then he appeared to more than 500 brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to the Apostles, last of all, as to the one untimely born, he appeared also to me. So, most scholars, including the skeptics of this, date this creed to within two to five years of the crucifixion of Jesus. Paul received this before he wrote it down. This isn't a legend that has evolved over centuries, this is within living memory of the events. So 500 witnesses, most were still alive at this point. So Paul is saying, if you don't believe me, go ask the 500 that saw, that experienced him. Well, you have people who want to debunk Christianity that say, oh, there's the hypnotized theory, right? 500 at the same time? No, not possible. So, anywho, the tomb was empty, the guards were bribed to lie about it, the witnesses were many named, and the message spread like a wildfire in the one fire, in the one place on earth where it could have been most easily disapproved. So that's not mythology, that's history, right? Would you agree with that? Exhibit D. And to me, this is, this may be the most important exhibit to me, and you find whatever you want. yours is, I don't know. The transformed lives. Point three, the people who saw him were never the same. So let me tell you about two men right here. The first is a man named Saul from Tarsus. Tarsus, sorry. Saul was educated, powerful, brilliant. He was on the right side of power. He was with the Romans. A Pharisee who was trained under the best teachers in Israel. And he had one mission, hunt down Christians and destroy the movement. So Paul, or Saul before he had an encounter with Jesus, was killing Christians. He wasn't passively oppressed, opposing to Christianity. He was actively dragging people out of their homes and throwing them in prison. He was standing by a proven when Stephen was stoned to death, which is in the Bible. And then on the road to Damascus something happened. He went from hunting Christians to being the hunted, being beaten, in prison, and ultimately executed for the very message he once tried to destroy. Acts 9, 1 through 6 says, but Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples

of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus. So that if he found any belonging to the way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? And he said, who are you, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city and you will be told what you are to do. What would turn a man like that? What would turn you like that? What kind of encounter would you have to have to go from killing someone for their beliefs to defending it? See that's not a vision, that's got to be a feeling. Something happened to Paul on that road to Damascus. And whatever it was, he spent the rest of his life being tortured for it and changed history. You can agree or disagree with that, but to me that's one of the most important exhibits of this case tonight, right? The second man is James. James was Jesus's own brother, and during Jesus' ministry he was performing miracles and drawing massive crowds. His own brother didn't believe he was the Messiah. John 7, 5 says his own brothers did not believe in him. How close you got to be to somebody, and I mean how closer could you be to someone than his brother and not believe in him, right? But after the resurrection, James became one of the most important leaders in the early church in Jerusalem. He is called a pillar of the church by Paul, and he was eventually executed, thrown from the top of the temple, and beaten to death for proclaiming that his brother was Jesus who was the risen Lord. I'm not dying for my brother if I know he's a fraud. And then there are the disciples. These are the men on the night of the crucifixion who were ghosts, gone, hiding. Peter denied Jesus how many times? They hid behind locked doors, they were terrified, right? And then something happened. And these same frightened cowards of men were going from place to place preaching the Word of Jesus. They preached in the same crowds, in the same city, in front of the same authorities that had executed Jesus. Every single one of them faced torture, imprisonment, and death for his message. And not one of them recanted their story. Here's the principle. People die

for what they believe is true, but nobody dies for what they know is a lie. And if you say you'll die for something you know that is a lie, you a lie. I'll stand on things that I believe in and I'll die for it. I went to Iraq and had friends that would die for it. Y'all got to meet one of them that was in here. Now, that's because I know who he is. If he was a fraud, I ain't dying for him. Why? See, if the disciples had stolen the body, if the whole thing was a fabrication, and it would have taken, all it would have taken was one of them to crack under pressure to kill the whole story, and then it'd be said it was made up. Paul was so convicted that when it was time for him to die, he didn't even want to be put up on the crucifixion the same way Jesus was. I'm not even worthy of this, right? So what happened to him on that, that encounter, right? Have you had an encounter yet? Because the fact of the matter is, I can sit up here and you can sit under the weight of pastors, preachers, teachers, whatever you want to call them, and they can give you all the history, all the biblical knowledge that you want, it's still gonna require faith. And just a little bit of it. Anybody know how small that faith gotta be? Ooh, let's go, I love it, somebody reading their Bible? Romans 8 11 says, if the Spirit of Him who was raised, who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through the Spirit who dwells in you. The same power and Spirit that raised Jesus from the death lives in you. That's not a metaphor, it's a promise. Why? Because the Bible tells me. Well why is the Bible true? Well, because there's a whole bunch more manuscripts out there historically than all the other crap that we believe. So here's my closing arguments for this. Once again, you're the judges tonight. So Romans, Jews, the pagans, the philosophers, all confirmed the death of Jesus. The empty tomb, I mean the empty tomb was never divided, it was never denied by his enemies. That wasn't the argument. 500 claimed to have seen him alive, and these were from his most unlikely followers. He had a persecutor as one of his closest. He had a skeptical brother who didn't believe in him, but they gave their lives for the message of Jesus Christ. And the documents

that record all of this are part of the best attested history of what we have. So here's what I want you to understand. The resurrection isn't just a historical argument that we're trying to win. If Jesus actually rose from the dead, and I believe he did, then death doesn't have the final word not over his life nor over yours. So I want to speak to three people in the room tonight. The skeptic. That's who I was, so I raised my hand on that. You don't have to raise your hand. You've been waiting for enough evidence, right? And maybe tonight, maybe I gave you enough evidence. Maybe I didn't. But at some point, the barrier isn't information, it's the decision. And this decision is, I'm gonna believe in something far greater than what I can't explain. But see, the problem of it is, is we have a hard time believing in the supernatural, but there's a lot of you in this room that have had something supernaturally happen that you can't explain it. There's no textbook, there's no historian, there's no preacher, there's no person, there's no friend, there's no mom, there's no dad, there's no one that can explain that to you. I probably can't even explain it to you other than I know it's God. See, I was that skeptic until I had an encounter. And then if you've heard the story, I even tried to debunk that because I am a matter-of-fact person, right? So when I'm listening to worship music, by the way, that's why worship means so much to me, because it's the first time I ever felt the Holy Spirit. And what did I say? And some of you are gonna laugh, some of you have heard this before. I told my wife, my estrogen level must be too high. true story So my testosterone must be low and my estrogen must be too high Because I couldn't explain what just happened. So what did I do? I went to Well, what realistically happened in that moment? 42 years old so the testosterone starts lowering and you know you guys you get older, you know what I'm talking about And so it must be a chemical imbalance right now because I'm not a crier and she's saying no, babe You felt the Holy Spirit And since then I've spent more time

Crying right down there during worship Than anything else in my life. I don't even try to explain it no more because I can't explain it, right? The question is are you willing to follow? That is what it boils down to Then I want to talk to you that who have drifted You might have believed once you might have grew up in church. You might have had that moment and then life got complicated, right? Something didn't make sense and you walked away. Oh, well somebody in church heard me Thank you, and the question is church necessary Well, I think the church's is necessary to you spiritually as the hospital is to you physically And then you'll say oh well there's hypocrites and bad people in church We're lost looking for something But as soon as you if you fall out in this floor right now, do you care which hospital? We take you to Well, guess what there's bad doctors and nurses at the hospital You're going to school right now to get education There's bad teachers there Bad professors, there's bad people at college Well, why are you going you don't say well I ain't going to school because there's hypocrites there They bad people there, but you'll so quickly say I ain't going to church because there's hypocrites in there Right We're all flawed. So that's where I want you. I want you in here. I Want you in here God wants you in here because I want to give you the truth and the truth is the Holy Bible I want you to know though if you drifted the tomb still empty and he's still risen And he's not holding that against you for drifting So I want to I want you to come back I want you to come back tonight to the believer You carry the greatest verified news in history The resurrection of Jesus is not a just a private encounter for you. You were not called just to consume You are called to contribute You

Were called To tell people the good news So do you have to go to heaven to be in church? No, I don't believe that That's up for debate depending on religious belief you have Right, but what I know to be true if you going if you're going to be the same That Jesus has called you to be then you're gonna need to find a community And where else to find a community with like like-minded people so you can go be fisher men and women Because that's what Jesus called you to do Romans 10 9 says if you declare with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead. You will be saved Period John 11 25 to 26. Jesus said to her I am the resurrection and the life the one who believes in me will live Even though they die and whoever lives by believing in me will never die You believe this and it's funny if you go back to scripture how Paul says some of them were already sleeping Then say we're dead. I Found that very interesting when I was reading with that So When everybody bow your head And before we close I want to give everybody in a room in this room a moment to respond I Don't want to embarrass you. I just want to create some space For this moment to be between you and God Here's what I'm asking you to believe I don't want you to feel this. I don't want you to have it perfectly figured out because you're not Bringing on a leader today, and I told her today that All the battles that you've battled once you decide to live for Jesus and walk in a path that Leads to him you'll be attacked more If you don't believe me read about the disciples But it's the encounter that you've had or you have with Jesus worth The ridicule and the attacks it absolutely is Because when I get there I want to hear

Well done faithful servant But this is what I can attest to you. Just like me and just like you as I Proceed in this walk. I'm gonna make plenty more mistakes And I'm gonna fall short. You're gonna fall short But I need you to know Jesus was real He lived and he died on the cross can't argue that point and Then he rose on the third day. He is alive right now, and he is in this room with us He died for your sin, and he rose so you could be forgiven and free So If anybody's in this room tonight, and you feel like hey, I've got enough Okay, you put it in a term that I can accept that Adam. That's enough for me to start with Then all I want you to do is stand up in your place everybody else heads down If this is a moment that you're like hey, I want to start this walk with Jesus Then all you gotta do is stand up If you've been running Come back Tonight's the night you come back You've heard the evidence the case was laid out he died he rose He died for our sins and our salvation in any given moment Jesus could have took himself off that cross But he knew it had to happen So we're gonna close in a minute, and I'm gonna ask that Anybody wants to come to the altar If you're one of the three either one of the three and if you didn't have the courage to stand up tonight That's okay. I'll be in the back of the room And come pull me off to the side like you know what? Adam or one of your leaders. I got just enough to want to start believing And start this while I still have a whole bunch more questions, and that's okay because I still got a bunch of questions So I'm gonna pray and then I'm gonna let worship finish out

But the altar is open to you, and I ask that hey come leave it here this room is holy I love Sundays. I love Thursdays I love the opportunity that I get to spend in here by myself in this room because I know the Spirit of God is in The building he's everywhere, but I know he's in here with me Father God, thank you for this day Thank you for the opportunity to be here on stage dear Lord. Thank you for each and every one of the leaders here tonight Thank you for each and every one of the young adults that showed up tonight I pray that there was something in this message It's small as a mustard seed to start a movement From an encounter with you that turns into a mission that just leads people to you Lord Thank you for dying on the cross for us. Thank you for bleeding. Thank you for rising on the third day Lord, thank you for all our many blessings, and we love you Jesus name Amen if you will stand and let's finish worship