Jesus Christ and Our great Salvation. It's not just a Salvation its Our Great Salvation.

Were going to be reading from 1st Corinthians 15 1 thru 5 and 12 - 20.

1st Corinthians 15 - 1 thru 5 ...1-Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2-By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 3-For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4-And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures; 5-And that he was seen of Ce'-phas, then of the twelve;

12 thru 20 ... 12-Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13-But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen' 14-And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. 15-Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God' because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ; whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.

16-For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised' 17-And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain' ye are yet in your sins. 18-Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. 19-If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. 20-But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept.

May God Bless the reading of His Holy inspired word to our hearts. Christ is Risen! These "IF" situations is laying it out for you to make you think and give you a contract. Were if not for fact that Jesus Christ conquered death and the grave we would not be present here today for this worship service.

We would be out maundering in the world. Christianity is a faith that claims a living founder, someone who is alive and well. His disciples came together regularly for Bible study, prayer and worship in order to experience His living presents in their mists. Christianity is not just good advice. It is good news from God Himself. Good news about God for sinners everywhere.  And the Bible tells us all that "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God that leaves out  no one!  To miss the point is to miss heart of the Gospel.

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ not only make possible our great salvation. It also makes it certain without any doubt what so ever. Its interesting to note how this verse is translation of the modern text. I am not a person that cares to much for the modern text. I like the old King James Version and I read from thee Scofield Bible. But today's  English  version translated.  And so He is able now and always to save those who come to God through Him,  because He lives forever to plead with God for them.

Phillips uses the beautiful paraphrase; this means that he can save  fully and completely those who approach God through Him. For He is always living to intercede on their behave. These inspired words affirm  both the ability and determination of this living Christ to fully save those who come to Him. Come to God by Him. This possibility is based solidly on the fact He did conquer sin, death and the grave. He will abide forever as our living high priest. Our Lord of Lords, Our King of Kings. in the presents of the Father.

Doctor Robert G. Lee for many years Pastor from the Belleview Baptist church in Memphis Tennessee preached a sermon he called  "The Worlds Blackest Assumption." I love that. This black assumption that Jesus Christ did not rise from the dead is discussed in Paul's Episcopal to the believers are Coren. Now we just read that, if Christ be not dead and Christ be not risen and so on and so forth. IF Jesus Christ is not risen then the church has no message.

We might just well just all go home. No message for a lost and dyeing world. If Jesus Christ is not risen Christians have nothing to believe. Nothing in this world that we can rely on. If Jesus Christ has not risen  the apostles and all subsequent preachers have misrepresented God as having raised Jesus Christ. If Jesus Christ has not risen your faith in an empty worthless shell.

Did you ever go out around the hickory nuts or walnuts and you pick it up and you think "Oh I'm going to have some good nut meats!" and you break it and there's no nut meats in there it's empty! Well this is the way that we work. That's a picture of your faith if Jesus Christ has not risen. Empty - Hollow but beloved He has risen. If Jesus Christ has not risen you are you are still guilty and the condemnation that results from sin. Nothing has been done to take place of your sin and my sin,

If Jesus Christ has not risen those believers who died with faith in Jesus Christ are perished, their gone, never to be heard from again. Their gone forever. Were just whistling in the dark if Jesus Christ is not risen. If Jesus Christ has not risen we are very sad creatures, because we have built our lives on a illusion. We need to thank God that the worlds blackest assumption is a false hood. It's a lie of the devil. It is the fact that Paul is trying to get across to us. that He is risen, Jesus Christ has gloriously risen from the dead. He's alive and well. Because He lives all of us will live also.

All these if's that the apostle Paul puts in there are to make us think about it. The empty tomb declared that Jesus the disciples that Jesus, the Jewish leaders and the Roman authority's something had happened to the body has been buried there. It was the repeated appearances of the risen Christ that had completely transformed the hearts and lives of the  apostles He was seen by 500, He was seen by the apostles, He was seen by Mary Magdalena, and the other Mary. These apostles became flaming evangelists of the good news, that the penalty of sin had been paid for completely. Death had been conquered by Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ is alive. The risen Christ appeared the His disciples at least 10 different times. The thrilling truth of His resurrection gave them a message of hope for a world that was facing despair. And beloved that's like you and I today, we look around and we see all the bad things that are going on. and yet we have hope. We have a hope in a loving God. Like the notes of a thousand silver trumpets the apostles went out to proclaim that Jesus Christ is alive. This was no figment of their imagination. This was reality. This was no illusion unto which they labored. It was no moorage for which they died. The resurrection vindicates Jesus of Nazareth as Gods unique Son. From Romans Chapter 1.

Before His resurrection the apostles believed Jesus to be the Son of God. Following His resurrection and many appearances to them along the way. They knew He was the Son of God to the extent they put their lives on the line to tell others of this Great Loving God and His saving grace. For by Grace ye are saved plus nothing.  Jesus resurrection proved that His cru fiction was a revelation of divine love for sinners. This was Gods love in His works when Jesus went to the cross. You have to realize that He was your substitute and my substitute He took our place. We should have been there. We should have bleed and died there. But He our place. One person who knew no sin went to die for all man kind.

When Jesus was crucified the apostles considered it a personal catastrophe, for their leader it was a public disgrace, They spat upon Him and cussed Him. For all of them it was target political disappointed. Only though the doorway of a empty tomb from which Jesus had been raised could God reveal that His Son's death on the cross was a revelation of His great love for sinners. Great Love for You and a Great Love for me.

Christ crucifixion demonstrated God's boundless love for unworthy sinners. This love is not something we can buy, it's not something we can earn. It's God's FREE gift. He holds it out to each and every person. But you know a gift is not a gift until it's received by the individual. So many people desperately need to be told about the greatness of this Love. This Love that God showed through His son. Without being aware of it many people are like  Wanita Perry a former hoodlum who wanted to make up for his sins, he wanted to do something to make up for his sins. so what did he do for 12 years (this is a true story) he had himself nailed to a cross each and every good Friday. Perry a tattooed former gangster and street  brawler slum from Manila said he was rein acting the crucifixion to compensate for the errors of his youth. He said I subject myself to this torture to make up for my sins and the sins of others.

Beloved he was misguided. He was seeking to earn something that cannot be earned. He was seeking to pay for his sins when Jesus Christ paid for all of our sins. The atonement for sin had already been taken care of through the death Jesus Christ on the cross. The resurrection enabled Jesus to intercede for us in God's presence. The beloved apostle John mentioned this fact when he wrote to his encourage his spiritual children to avoid living in sin.

1st John 2 1 & 2 tells us my little children these things right I unto you. That ye sin not and if any man sins we have a we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

Now when we say the sins of the whole world. That takes care of every one that was ever born. He went and paid the price for every single individual ever born. But John 14:6 says I am the way the truth and the light. No man cometh to the Father but by Me. By what I did on the cross of Calvary, I paid the purchase price of sin thought My shed blood once and for all, For all who will come and accept Jesus Christ into their life.

The author of Hebrew writes Christ is a mediator who acts on our behave. I have many times told you He is our intercessor, two boys that came up to say opening pray last night were hesitant and I told them just to say what's sin their heart. We have an intercessor there in and through Jesus Christ and He takes that pray and He beautifies it so to speak. And presents it to God the Father from what you meant in your heart. I'm telling you the one boy should have been preaching last night. He was very good. Very good.

But that's how He intercedes for us and one day He will intercede for us when we take that step into heaven. The writer further asserts that Christ has offered Himself and continues to offer His sacrificial death as an atonement for the sins of those who accept Him as Lord and Savior. It is by Christ victorious resurrection from the dead that His ministry of intersession is made possible that He is  able to be our Savior of our penalty of sin, the practice of sin. and eventually the very presence of sin. One day sin will be no more.

When we get into heaven there will be no sin there. The sin situation has been taken care of. Based on the fact that He is a living Savior. The resurrection gave believers a living Lord and companion for the road of life. Do you know that the gospel the good news the Bible is your road map of life. It tells you what took place in the past, now and in the future.

Jesus Christ is much more than the inspirational memory of one who lived to the past. In the 40 days between His resurrection and His assent ion He gave the disciples many indisputable proofs that He had conquered death and the grave. You know so many preachers preach all the time that Jesus Christ went and paid the penalty for their sins. But they leave it there.  But Jesus Christ took care of the sin situation and the death situation also. The grave is defeated in and through Jesus Christ. He repeatedly encouraged them to wait and to want for a precious gift from God the Father.

And the gospel of the spirit and the gospel of John been called, Jesus had promised at a time the disciples could not fully understand His words. I will not leave you comfortless. I will come to you. He was to fulfill His promise on the day of the Pena cost when the Holy Spirit could come to His reside in the church. With the writing in John's gospel we should hear Jesus saying Follow Me, Follow Me. Let the Holy Spirit live within your heart. Follow Me.

With the disciples that were present on the mountain top we should hear Jesus given a divine mandate. He commanded them go ye therefore and teach all nations. We should hear Jesus make a promise that those who give themselves in obedience to His command. He has  many promises in the Bible to each and everyone of us. He promised His abiding presence saying although I am with you always. Even and to the end of the world. Amen

Jesus Christ is gloriously alive and well. He is standing at your hearts door. Eager to bring God's blessing into your life. This Jesus that went the cross of Calvary and paid the plenty in full softly and tenderly is calling to each and every single individual, Let Him come into your heart, Let Him come into your life. Let Him be the one who guides your foot steps,. Let Him go along the pathway of your life. We heard of two that passed away and we do not know if we will be here tomorrow or not. You can lay out some beautiful plans but you do not know if you will be here tomorrow or not. Today is the only day that each of us have, the only day that we have to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our own personal savior. We are not promised tomorrow.

We need to walk with Him as He leads us down the pathway of life to a meaningful living and significant service in and through Him. Because He lives we are alive and well. We have the promise of God. What we do with it makes all the difference in our lives. We can either accept Jesus Christ or we can turn our back and walk away. He leaves the decision up to each individual. The choice is yours, the choice is mine. What will you do with what He offers to you?

Shall we pray. Our precious gracious loving Heavenly Father, Lord we thank you that Jesus Christ is alive and well. We thank you for the love of God, this love that He puts in our heart. Help  us to use it mindfully and spread it to others and we thank you for the Holy Spirit that guides our lives, guides it where it should be, what we should be saying and what we should be doing. Lord as we walk down the pathway of life we just pray that You will be with each and everyone here Lord. We all need Jesus in our lives and need Him and His Blessings. Lord we just pray that you will be each and everyone and help them to realize that Jesus is alive and well. His birth is a wonderful thing but His death, burial and resurrections is what Christianity is all about. In Jesus precious name Amen.