Happy Easter. I want you to know, and you guys, you guys know this already, but it's appropriate to be excited, especially on Easter. In fact, if we didn't come here with some. Some energy and passion, that would probably be inappropriate considering what we're celebrating today, what we're reminded of, of Jesus, resurrection, and all that means in our lives. So sing out, clap, cheer. You guys do that great in the worship time. You feel free to cheer during the message as well. Not that I'm just looking for applause and insecurities, but I want us to have a disposition of passion, especially at Easter, because of what everything means. And I understand that on this day we get a lot of visitors, so I want to just be really upfront. Like, I want to persuade you to become a follower of Jesus Christ. And hopefully that's not a surprise. Like, you came to church on Easter. I don't want you to walk out of there. And it's like, I think that preacher is trying to convert me. Totally trying to convert you. So just being out front with that, like, I want you to be a follower of Jesus. But also Easter is a time where it's like, a lot of people come to church where they would call themselves a Christian and believe in Jesus, but. But maybe not come that often or. I want to persuade you to become a more passionate, devoted follower of Jesus Christ. And then there's other people in this room that you are faithfully living a life devoted to Christ. And I want to just be like that guy that holds water to people running a marathon like, you're already running. Like, I want to just. Yes, keep going, do it. So. So that's where we're going. And I want us to be up front with that. Like, I want us to lean into Jesus Christ with more devotion and passion to do that. And I feel validated in that desire because if you've read the Gospels, you know that Jesus calls people to follow him. Now, if you're familiar with the way that he did that, you might feel like, I don't know if you really wanted more followers. He didn't have the greatest sales pitch, at least from our eyes, because he would do things like miracles and very engaging teaching, and he would gather these crowds and he would call people to follow him. But in that kind of pitch, to come, follow me, we'd come across. Not just come across. It would be, well, you willing to die? Take up your cross and follow me. You willing to sell everything? Like, that didn't go well, right? Then follow me. Or you want to Follow me then eat my flesh and drink my blood that lost a lot of people or count the cost. Like don't get all excited to follow me just cause you saw some miracles and you were engaged in like you need to count the cost. Cause I don't want you to start following me and then find out the difficulty that is and then bail. So you see like Jesus kind of calling people to follow him, but he did it in a really upfront way. And I don't want to try to trick anybody today. I want to call you to follow Jesus more in the fashion of what Jesus did himself. And I think we're missing some of that. I think in an effort to make Christianity more appealing, we presented it as easy and we've lost something. Or maybe not presented easy, but the parts that we focus on are just like God loves you and he wants a relationship with you, which is true. But if you don't talk about the things Jesus talked about in the invitation to come and fall, come and die, that you would find life. Count the cost. Follow me. Willing to hold everything open handed. Like if we don't present that biblical Christianity, I think there's something going to be missing in our Christianity. There's a potency that gets diluted and then we have a type of Christianity that doesn't really stand up to the pressures and directions of our world. So that's where we're going because I think perhaps we may miss that a little bit. In fact, I was talking to a friend who goes here a little while back and he was telling me about a conversation he had with another friend and Easter's coming up and where do you go to church? Where do you go to church? And he said, well I go to Veritas. And his friend responded, oh, big screens, skinny jeans and smoke machines. Which we don't do smoke machines, we're never going to do smoke machines. None of I have anything to say about it. We do have a very big screen, it's back at the church. And these aren't skinny jeans, I just have big thighs. So it's a little hurtful. But there is this kind of mentality of like just entertain people, you know, just it's just a show and people want to be. And we got, you know, talented musicians, a super attractive pastor. Like I get how people can make these conclusions, but it can kind of come across as like, it's just entertainment driven. It's just kind of like appeasing people. And perhaps, perhaps we've been deceived, perhaps we've been deceived to kind of form a Christianity or an idea about following Jesus that is really built around our own comfort and desires. Jesus is going to help me have the type of life that I want to have and kind of improve my life. Not like die to my life to follow Him. Like how do I have this kind of Christianity built around me and my hopes and my dreams and my comfort? But what if real Christianity is hard and sacrificial and does call you to die to yourself, but yet it's also more rewarding than we could ever imagine? I mean, what if real Christianity is a narrow road, but it leads to life? What if we're missing it when it comes to that? So I want to call us to be passionate followers of Jesus Christ, like, like to be that guy that's all in, like, willing to die to myself, hold everything open handed, king of my life, I follow you. It's about you type of followers of Jesus. But I also want to provide the why and the how to that call. And I think the resurrection is key to that. So if you have your Bibles, First Corinthians 15, this may be the most popular resurrection chapter in all of Scripture. We've talked about this before on Easter, so if this sounds familiar, that's probably why. But we're gonna go to First Corinthians 15. Now if you come to Veritas, normally we've been working through Second Corinthians, the same context, but this is the first letter Paul wrote to them. And we're only gonna focus on three verses. But I wanna read a chunk of scripture before we get to those three verses. That's gonna give us some context. And if you didn't bring your Bibles, we'll put these verses on the screen. I don't know about these verses, but the three that we're gonna look at, we'll put those up there. But just listen to what Paul says here, First Corinthians 15. Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God because we testify about God, that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise, if it's true that 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 futile and you are still in your sins, then those also have fallen asleep, or those who have perished have passed away in Christ have perished. They're dead. It's nothing else. If in Christ we have hope, in this life only we are of all people, most to be pitied. He's saying, if it's just about this life, if Jesus just exists to help you have the best life now, then we should be pitied. We should be pitied. Like it makes no sense. Everything falls apart. If the resurrection didn't happen. And he's saying, listen, the resurrection's a big deal. It's a big deal and it has implications. So let's go a little bit further. We're gonna look at verses 32, 33 and 34, and he's going to continue this argument. So let me read all of them and then we'll look at it a little bit more closely. Says, what do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? We don't know the situation, but that sounds like an awesome story that we don't get let in if the dead are not raised. Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. Do not be deceived. Bad company ruins good morals. Wake up from your drunken stupor as is right and do not go on sinning, for some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame. So here's what Paul's talking about. He's talking about his lifestyle. And it's a lifestyle that's being shaped because of his belief in the resurrection. I'm out here fighting beasts and if you're been with us, last week we were in Second Corinthians, chapter 11, where it gives that long list of how many beatings he's got and he's been shipwrecked and all the trouble in his life, he's saying, yeah, this life of suffering, of difficulty, it's because I believe that this life isn't all there is, that there's something beyond this life and I'm living for it. So he's talking about a lifestyle that's shaped by the resurrection. But if there's no resurrection, then that would lead to a different kind of lifestyle. If no resurrection, then let's eat and drink and tomorrow we die. Like this is all there is. So just live it up, enjoy it. And he's kind of putting those two in front of people. So basically the resurrection has to mean something on a very practical level, like a day to day how you live your life level. Christianity is not just about agreeing with a set of doctrines, okay? Christianity is about being transformed or shaped by those doctrines. Like, those doctrines make practical differences in our life. Like, if this is true, then this makes sense. And if this is not true, then this doesn't make sense. It has its implications. And Christianity is more than just having the right ideas. For example, I was playing pickleball a while back with some pastor friends. We were at a network event. We got up early. There's a group of us that are going to go play pickleball together. Not a pickleball player, but extremely athletic. So I thought I'd be fine here. So we're playing pickleball. And there was a. There was a phrase of encouragement, like, I was playing with a group of pastor friends, so everybody's nice. And there was this reoccurring encouragement that began to annoy me. And I started to interpret it as an insult because I would hit the ball, try to dink it or pop it over, but it would hit the net or it would just go out of bounds. And they would always say, oh, great idea, Jake. Oh, right idea. That's a great idea. Oh, great idea, Jake. And I would hear that so often that I was just kind of like, guys, this isn't a game of ideas, right? If it was, I would be doing awesome. But you actually have to get the ball over the net and inbounds. Like, that's kind of the point, right? It's not just a game of ideas. And I want to tell you, Christianity is not just about having the right ideas, the right truths. Those truths actually have to land in bounds in your heart or on good soil that might tune you into something that Jesus said to produce fruit in your life. Like, it's got a land. So has the Resurrection landed in your heart to produce actions and lifestyles? Christianity is more than just having the right ideas. And Paul is not just defending the resurrection, which he is, but he's wanting the Corinthians to embrace a resurrection believing lifestyle because the resurrection is true. Like this happened. Therefore this makes sense in your life. So this shouldn't be too far of a stretch. But if you're a Christian, Christian should embrace a resurrection believing lifestyle. Right? You could see how we could get there, right? You could connect those dots. Let's get a little bit more personal. If you claim to believe in Jesus Christ as the Lord of Lords, the King of Kings, the Son of God, who came down, died on a cross, was raised from the grave, if you believe in that, then you should embrace a Resurrection believing lifestyle. That's not too far of a stretch, is it? Okay, I'm just saying maybe it is, man. Maybe I'm being too hard on these people. I don't know. But what is a resurrection believing lifestyle? Well, Paul's making a contrast. In this text, he's making a contrast between fighting beast in Ephesus or eat, drink for tomorrow we die. Like, that's the contrast he's making. And the life he's putting before is his life that's being lived because he believes in the resurrection that has led to difficulty, to hardship, to sacrifice, to. To fighting beasts in Ephesus, as he puts it. So a resurrection believing lifestyle is a life that is more passionate about mitching over comfort. That's the contrast he made. It's not about just eating and drinking and living it up. I'm doing sacrifices out here. I'm doing hard stuff out here. It is a narrow road. There's difficulty. It's one that says I'm more passionate about mission, the cause of Christ, the spreading of the gospel, than my own personal comfort. Or you could put it this way. It's a lifestyle that expresses a greater desire in eternity than this life now. Like, I'm not making choices to kind of have the most amount of comfort and enjoyment now. I'm making investments in what I believe happens after I die. Or you could put it this way. Belief in life after death should shape life before death. Belief in life after death shift should shape life before death. Like, if you believe in the resurrection that this life isn't all there is, then that should shape how you live now. And if you don't, then that should also shape how you live. If you don't believe anything is after, like, that should show up in how you live. Belief in life after death should shape life before death. Or let's maybe put more meat on those bones. Belief in the resurrection of Jesus changes how we live now. But does it does it for you? Or maybe you found yourself agreeing with the ideas of Christianity, the truths of Christianity, the doctrines of Christianity. But if you step back and examine, you're living like the rest of the world. You're living like this life is all that there is, or this life is what matters most. How does that happen? Because it just kind of happens. You just kind of like find, like you just drift into like the current of our culture just kind of took you there. This is maybe a little bit of a confession time, but has anybody binge watched a show on Netflix so long that Netflix has to put up the screen that asks you if you're still watching. Anybody want to admit that in a group room full of people? Like, normally, it'll just go to the next show for you. But after so long, even the streaming service is like, I don't. Maybe they're dead. Do they fall asleep? Like, this is. This is unhealthy long. Like, they're saying, like, this is going. I gotta ask, are you still there? And you have to, like, click a button to know to go to the next show. And you might be like, jake, how do you know that? Doesn't matter. But maybe for you, it's like, oh, I've been a Christian for so long, I come to church often. Or I've been coming to Easter for a long time. Like, this is you coming to church and church asking you, are you still following? Like, just checking in. Have you fallen asleep spiritually? Are you checked out? Like, are you still. When you look at Christ, are you still like, I'm in. I'm all in. Like, is that still your disposition and posture? And if not, what happened? Like, why does it happen that people just kind of drift in from, I'm all into Jesus Christ, so I'm starting to look more like the world and live more like the world and value things like the world, and it just kind of happens. Why do people who profess to believe in Jesus live like people who don't profess to believe in Jesus? And there's just so much similarity between the two. You just kind of drift into that. Well, the answers are in our text. Let's look back at verse 32, and verse the first part of verse 33 says, what do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. And then here's the first part of verse 33. Do not be deceived. So there's the problem. Deception. Like, what's behind this deception? There's deception that's happening. You're like, well, how? Or maybe a. A more helpful question is, where is that deception coming from? And what exactly is the deception? So let's start with the first one. What exactly is the deception? And the deception is this idea of, let's eat and drink for tomorrow we die. In fact, in your Bible, if you have it open in front of you, you'll see that those have quotation marks around it. It's a saying. You're being deceived by this saying. Now, where does a saying come from? Well, there's a couple possible connecting points. One, from Isaiah 22, verse 13, the situation was Jerusalem was surrounded by the Assyrians, and it was like certain death was coming. So all hope was lost. And when all hope was lost, this is how they thought they should live. We have no hope. Therefore, let's just kind of enjoy the short amount of time that's left to us. Like, that was their attitude. But also, this phrase became a very popular Christian saying during this time that Paul was writing. And it was taken from actually a Greek comedy of eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die. And it was taken from that as kind of a cultural saying on how to approach life. And what Paul's pointing out is that kind of thinking has found its way into the church. So the way that people outside the church think, which we expect that in fact, it makes sense. They don't even believe in the Resurrection, but now it's finding its way into the church, and it doesn't make sense for people who do believe in the resurrection. Are you with me? It would be like sayings that you hear out in our culture. And it's like, yeah, I expect them to say that they don't believe in Jesus. But then you start hearing it said by people who claim to believe in Jesus. You're like, wait a second. Or it's like this. Somebody makes a post about something that completely undermines the gospel truth, and then you see church people like it. You're like, whoa, why are you liking that? Don't like that. Don't follow that. Don't be intrigued by that. Don't support that. And outside ways of thinking find their way inside the church. In fact, just recently, I was listening to Christian radio. I was in the car, and you know how they do those kind of devotionals between some songs that they play and there's a devotional. And the point of the devotional was enjoy the Now I almost got a car wreck. Can you imagine telling Paul, fighting wild beasts, hey, just enjoy the moment, Paul. No, but there's these secular ways of thinking that just kind of find their way into followers of Christ. And Paul's pointing it out, that's what happened. And it totally makes sense if you don't believe in the resurrection. But if you do believe in the Resurrection, that doesn't make sense. That doesn't line up. So the problem was a secular way of thinking was being very influential in how they were living. And Paul points it out. But where exactly is it coming from? Look at the rest of verse 33. It says, do not be deceived. Bad company ruins good morals. You know what he's saying? This is a peer pressure problem. This is a peer pressure problem. Bad company, like your culture, your surrounding, you're being influenced by the outside world, and it's got into your life and it's shaping the way you think and the way you act and the way you live. Bad company ruins good morals. It's steering you the wrong way. See, in the first century, this is important to understand. In the first century, there was these boxes that people would carry around with them that could kind of fit inside your pocket. And these boxes that they would carry around were connected to these ancient satellites. And these ancient satellites, there was different people. They were even called influencers. These influencers would send messages. No, stay with me. They would send messages that you could read. In fact, you would take these boxes out and you could do this with your thumb, and you'd see new things. And you could be like. You could even follow people. You know how some people follow Jesus? You could be like, I want to follow this person, and I want to know everything they say, and I want to know right when they say it, and I want to get it sent right to me. And they can be influenced by it. In fact, some of these boxes, they even had, like, an engraved symbol of an apple that was half eaten, kind of symbolizing the first influencer that said, oh, you can eat of that. Surely you won't die. So they would. No, no, stay with this. They would get these influences constantly of what people thought, and they would follow certain ones. But that was way back then. But what about today? Are you being influenced? Who are you following? Is it Jesus? And is there a chance that you've been deceived? I mean, influenced? And not that Jesus isn't real, but you've been influenced to think that this life is about you and your happiness and your comfort and everything revolves around you and your dreams, that you should just eat, drink, and be merry and try to have your best life. Now, yolo, baby. Hashtag, like, have those influences crept in? Here's Paul's call to action. And this is where it gets challenging. He says this in verse 34. Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning, for some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame. He calls it a drunken stupor. Not literally, but he's saying you're under the influence of the world. Like, you're intoxicated with the world. You've taken so much of it in that it's directing your life and your lifestyle. He says, do not go on sinning. Now, when we hear don't go on sinning, we're thinking, like, what immoral acts are they doing? But the sin in this context is not necessarily immorality, although it leads to that. But the specific sin he's calling out is ideology. You've embraced this ideology of eat and drink for tomorrow we die, that this life is all there is and I just need to live it up. You're living as if the resurrection's not real. You're living as if there's no life after this life. So you're giving all to this life and you're trying to suck the most joy out of this life. Because once it's over, it's over, it's gone, and there's nothing more. You're acting like there's nothing more. That's the sin that he's calling out. So here's this call to action. Wake up from your drunken stupor and don't go on sinning. Or you can put it this way. Wake up, sober up and shape up. That's what he's saying. Hey, wake up, sober up and shape up. But I want to point something out, and this is important. He doesn't just say, stop sinning. There's some important things he puts in front of that before he says, don't go on sinning. He says, wake up and sober up. Like, before change happens. You have to see and you have to begin to drink from a different source. Then lifestyle change happens. You'll be like, well, what do we have to see? You have to see that Jesus Christ rose from the grave. What does that say about Jesus? He's king of kings. Who else can do that? You're not seeing Jesus clearly. You're not seeing how awesome and glorious Jesus Christ is. So you're living for lesser things. That's why he says, I say this because some of you have no knowledge of God. These are church people. He planted a church there. What do you mean they have no knowledge of God? What he's saying is you're living like you don't know God. You're living like you don't see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. You're living like there's things in this world that are more appealing than God. That's what he's calling them out on. Well, that's the how. If I'm going to call us to a passionate following of Jesus Christ, here's how you Got to see the beauty of Jesus Christ. You gotta see him as better than anything this world has to offer. And you gotta begin to drink from that source, sober up, like be influenced by him, be followers of him, want to know everything he says, want to look more like him. Then change happens. That's how. But why? Why should you be a cross bearing everything, open handed, holding count the cost, all in, die to this world, die to myself. Follower of Jesus Christ. Why? And here's the answer. The resurrection, the resurrection. The resurrection of Jesus Christ inspires passionate living for Jesus Christ. Because if there is no resurrection, then you should do whatever you want and you should live however you want. And whatever makes you happy, you should do it. You should chase it down. That makes sense. But. But if Jesus did raise from the dead, then that life doesn't make sense at all. If Jesus rose from the dead and he is who he says he is, and he did accomplish what Scripture tells us he accomplished, then the lifestyle that makes sense is, oh, I'll follow him anywhere, I'll do whatever he says, I'll suffer for him, I'll die for him, I'll live for him. I'll hold everything open handed for him. The resurrection of Jesus shows us that this life isn't all there is. That there's hope. There's hope and there's something better to live for than the weekend, than retirement, than just as much as you can accumulate. Because that's going to be, that's going to be gone. Guys, I'm telling you, if you live for this world, it's never going to deliver the contentment you look for, the joy you look for, the satisfaction you crave. This world will never deliver on that. And even if it does, in small ways, it's so temporary, like it's here and gone, it's fleeting. And if you live for this life, there are so many things that can ruin it. You do not know the phone call you're gonna get this week. You don't know if that ache in your chest is a heart attack coming. You don't know the diagnosis that's in your future, the crisis. Like if you live for this world, there are so many things that can ruin it so quickly that you didn't plan on and it just comes and there's nothing you can do about it. But if you live for Christ, there is nothing that can ruin this life. Not that you won't go through hardships and difficulties, but that doesn't ruin your life. It gives you a stage or a platform to display the mercy and grace of God in beauty of Christ. In fact, Paul ends this chapter by saying this. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. Knowing. Knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. It's not in vain. Well, how do you know that Jesus rose from the grave. That was a validation that this is true. Like you know, it's not in vain. Guys, Christians were never promised a life of ease and comfort and prosperity. In fact, what's more the case in Scripture is the opposite. Suffering. Plan on it. Difficulty. Count on it. Take up your cross. Follow me. Die to yourself. So you want in. Here's what the resurrection tells us. Jesus Christ. If the resurrection is true and the grave is empty, here's what it tells us. Jesus Christ is King of kings and Lord of Lords. Who else could do that? And if he is who he said he is, then he is worth following. He is worth serving. He is worth obeying. He is worth suffering for. He is worth dying for. He is worth living for. And those who do, those who do, find life and life to the fullest. And is it a narrow road? Yeah. But do you know where it leads? To our Maker, who at his right hand are pleasures forevermore. And those who are willing to die, die to themselves. Die to their dreams, die to their ambitions. Die to this world for his sake. Find life. So I hope for those in here that would say that you're not a follower of Jesus Christ. My hope isn't that you would just change. Change. My hope is that you would see that you would see the glory of God in Jesus Christ and you would see him as worthy of your life. And those of you in here that you would claim to be a follower of Jesus Christ, but let's be honest, you're not really. You look more like the world. My hope is that you would wake up from your drunken stone stupor as is right, and you would sober up from the intoxication of the lies of this world. That it's about you and this life is all there is. And you would live passionately for Jesus Christ. And for those of you in this room that are following hard after Christ, I hope that you would sing at the top of your lungs praise of his name and you would be an evidence that you found something the rest of this world is looking for. You found your king. And you would gladly do anything to serve him because he is worthy. Amen. Let's pray. Father, I pray that you would provide spiritual sight that you would open our eyes to see the beauty of Jesus Christ. That you would help us sober up from the lies of this world and live lives fully captivated by you. You are our King. And you're the king, whether we realize it or not. But for those of us that do you give life and life eternal, may we express an ever ending gratitude to you. We love you. Amen.