King Saul consults with a Medium at Endor

In first Samuel 28 we see that David and his 600 men are hiding out in the land of the Philistines. King Saul has stopped looking for David, because he’s left the country, but now, things are changing.

The Philistines are again gathering for war to invade Israel.

Now the only mention we get of David in 1st Samuel 28 is in the first two verses, it says this: “In those days the Philistines gathered their forces to fight against Israel. Achish said to David, “You must understand that you and your men will accompany me in the army.”

2 David said, “Then you will see for yourself what your servant can do.”

Achish replied, “Very well, I will make you my bodyguard for life.””

David has agreed to fight for the Philistines against Israel. But the rest of the chapter, we’re going to follow King Saul, caught up in a great deal of fear, trying to understand what he should do next.

It says in 1st Samuel 28:3-6, “Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in his own town of Ramah. Saul had expelled the mediums and spiritists from the land.

4 The Philistines assembled and came and set up camp at Shunem, while Saul gathered all Israel and set up camp at Gilboa. 5 When Saul saw the Philistine army, he was afraid; terror filled his heart. 6 He inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets.”

King Saul wasn’t just afraid at the sight of this massive enemy army on the horizon, he was terrorized by this, terror filled his heart. So he inquires of the Lord, how would he do that? He asked the prophets, they don’t have anything to tell him. He asks the Lord for a dream, no dream came. He even attempts this practice of Urim. 

Urim is a mystery of the old testament, but it was apparently part of the vest of the high priest, they would wear this multicolored vest with all sorts of different gems and rare stones on it, and along with this elaborate vest, they would have something called urim. It may have been dice that were thrown down, or sticks with different letters or marks on them, no one is sure today. But apparently when a major decision had to be made, like going to war, or taking a census, or something big, this method could be used. But only if God hadn’t made it clear, they would use the urim to discover God’s will. Fascinating, because even in the New Testament, it says the disciples cast lots, threw dice of a sort, to discover which disciple should take the place of Judas who had betrayed Jesus. So decision making in tough cases apparently can be adjudicated through the casting of lots.

In any case, there is no word from God. So, what do they do?

It says in verses 7-8: Saul then said to his attendants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, so I may go and inquire of her.”

“There is one in Endor,” they said.

So Saul disguised himself, putting on other clothes, and at night he and two men went to the woman. “Consult a spirit for me,” he said, “and bring up for me the one I name.”

It’s fascinating that Saul looks for a medium in Endor, because Endor is in the area of land allotted to the tribe of Issachar, and Issachar was known as a tribe to be able to foretell prophetically, from God, the future (1 Chronicles 12:32).

But instead of seeking the Lord, because God refuses to answer Saul, he seeks out the other side, demonically influenced witchcraft.

When you look at the topic of receiving a word, or foretelling the future, or being guided on decisions, there are two sides to it.

One, is consulting with demonic powers. People want to play with supernatural forces, it’s fun, it seems mysterious, so they go to a fortune teller, or practice wicca, astrology, witchcraft, receive a tarot card reading, play with a ouiji board, or they attempt a séance.

Many times it’s simply fake. There’s nothing there. But many times, it will actually be accurate because, it’s demonically influenced, influenced by demons.

That is considered a great sin by God, if we access those sort of influences. But many times people will say, well it’s very accurate! That's why they do it. And yes it may be, but you’re receiving information from a demon, which is an offense to the Lord.

The other way, is the way God wants us to take: to seek God through prayer. Or to fast and pray and seek a word from Him. Or to receive a word from a prophet, or through someone’s spiritual gifting, many Christians have the gift of a word of knowledge, or a gift of wisdom, or a gift of discernment, and we can receive wisdom, guidance and good counsel from such fellow believers if we’ll seek them out. We can also find guidance in God’s word. Or God may speak to us in a dream or vision, rarely of course, if we ask Him.

So, there are two sources of spiritual knowledge. The sources are either demonic influences, or Godly influences.

If you’ve ever been involved in any form of witchcraft though, tarot cards, mediums, astrology, zodiac signs, any of it, you should repent of it, and ask God’s forgiveness, because it’s a considered a severe sin.

Do that now, if you need to.

So Saul meets with this medium. He asks for her help. Let’s see how she responds.

Verse 9-11: But the woman said to him, “Surely you know what Saul has done. He has cut off the mediums and spiritists from the land. Why have you set a trap for my life to bring about my death?”

10 Saul swore to her by the Lord, “As surely as the Lord lives, you will not be punished for this.”

11 Then the woman asked, “Whom shall I bring up for you?”

“Bring up Samuel,” he said.

This is such a strange series of events in the book of 1st Samuel. King Saul going so far off course, going and consulting with a medium. And asking for the medium to call up the spirit of Samuel, who has already died.

It’s very strange stuff. But, here it is.

So the woman starts doing her thing, and she is shocked to actually see the spirit of Samuel.

It says in verses 12-15, “12 When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out at the top of her voice and said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!”

13 The king said to her, “Don’t be afraid. What do you see?”

The woman said, “I see a ghostly figure coming up out of the earth.”

14 “What does he look like?” he asked.

“An old man wearing a robe is coming up,” she said.

Then Saul knew it was Samuel, and he bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground.

15 Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?””

“I am in great distress,” Saul said. “The Philistines are fighting against me, and God has departed from me. He no longer answers me, either by prophets or by dreams. So I have called on you to tell me what to do.”

There is a great debate in Christian circles here. The big question is, did God use this moment to really bring Samuel up to rebuke Saul, or is this an incident where Saul is consulting with a demon?

Is it really the prophet Samuel, back from the dead, or is it just a trick, a demon pretending to be Samuel?

But one thing is true that I want to highlight for you: Our loved ones who have died are not with us anymore. God is with us. His angels protect us. Jesus Christ lives within us, but, our loved ones are not with us. They don’t talk to us. They can’t be conjured up.

Then again, at the appearance of Samuel’s spirit, the witch is surprised. Maybe she is surprised because she didn’t expect something real to happen. Maybe God used this incident to rebuke Saul a second time. Or, maybe it is just a demon. I tend to think that this is really Samuel back from the dead, but the witch isn’t doing it, God is doing it, to rebuke Saul. But I could be wrong.

But I tend to think that it is really Samuel, because in verse 16 it says, “Samuel said.” If it was a demon, I think scripture would say, “then the demon spoke and said.”

So, verses 16-19 say this: Samuel said, “Why do you consult me, now that the Lord has departed from you and become your enemy? 17 The Lord has done what he predicted through me. The Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hands and given it to one of your neighbors—to David. 18 Because you did not obey the Lord or carry out his fierce wrath against the Amalekites, the Lord has done this to you today. 19 The Lord will deliver both Israel and you into the hands of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The Lord will also give the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines.”

Once again we see Samuel telling King Saul: You’ve failed in your mission. You are now regarded by God as his enemy. And David has already been given the kingdom. From God's perspective David is already King. Samuel says that it’s all going to happen just as was predicted by the Lord. The philistines would defeat Israel, Saul and his sons would be killed, and the army of Israel would be crushed.

Saul is devastated by this word, he’s exhausted, crushed, and weak from not eating.

It says in verses 20-25: Immediately Saul fell full length on the ground, filled with fear because of Samuel’s words. His strength was gone, for he had eaten nothing all that day and all that night.”

21 When the woman came to Saul and saw that he was greatly shaken, she said, “Look, your servant has obeyed you. I took my life in my hands and did what you told me to do. 22 Now please listen to your servant and let me give you some food so you may eat and have the strength to go on your way.”

23 He refused and said, “I will not eat.”

But his men joined the woman in urging him, and he listened to them. He got up from the ground and sat on the couch.

24 The woman had a fattened calf at the house, which she butchered at once. She took some flour, kneaded it and baked bread without yeast. 25 Then she set it before Saul and his men, and they ate. That same night they got up and left.”

What does this whole section about Samuel eating with the witch tell us? Sitting down and eating this meal with the witch is interesting, it almost sets up a relationship between them. The witch is trying to gain favor from Saul, so that he doesn’t have her killed for this harsh word he's received. But it kind of helps Saul along toward his inevitable end, his coming death in battle. It gives him strength, but not good strength, strength to go to his end.

He was a calf fattened for the slaughter you might say, he had made his bed, he had walked his path, now his path had reached it’s end, and it’s end was destruction.

It’s a good reminder for us today, in closing, to consider our path, are we paving a path toward eternal life or toward eternal destruction? It’s our choices, our heart, where we make the choices that establish us toward God or toward destruction. Which path are you on? If you’re here today, there is still hope to change your path, and turn to the path of life. But it takes giving yourself over to Jesus Christ, and then doing the footwork of living differently, embracing, prayer, church, reading of the word, applying the word, and living a crucified life. It’s not too much for you. His yoke is easy and his burden is light, yet the way is narrow, and few find it, so do everything you can, to make the path down the narrow pathway. Because the Lord said many will try to walk it and find out that they can’t.

That’s from Luke 13:24 “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to."

Is your Heart Stubborn or Soft? How to Guard your Heart Diligently

I was over at cone zone ice cream on Saturday. And I was pulling through the drive through. On the front of my vehicle I have a license plate that says “Jesus Christ is the answer.” I saw a lady with her son look at the license plate and scowl and I could read her lips she said, “no it isn’t.”

And I thought to myself, you are wrong about that. But God gives us the right to be wrong. But we will also have to deal with the consequences of it. God bless this woman, I pray one day she knows Christ as her savior.

But we are stubborn aren’t we? I know I was so stubborn, for years, refusing to change my ways, refusing to listen to anyone. I had to hit a rock bottom before I finally turned to Jesus.

Today we dive into Mark chapter 3, at a moment in history when Jesus went to the local synagogue. 

We’re looking at the actions of Jesus a great deal in Mark’s gospel account. And again we’ll see that here. It says in Mark 3:1-3, “Another time Jesus went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. 2 Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. 3 Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.”

Jesus our Lord is being watched carefully by the religious leaders. They want a reason to shut him down. In your walk with Christ you will also face people who will try to stop you. You will face people who will look for any little thing they can point out in your character to say, ah, they aren’t a real Christian. To say hey, you’re a fake. I’m sure there are people in my hometown ten years later still waiting for me to trip back, but it’s never going to happen.

In those situations, we’re often quick to play defense. Here let me explain why I’m actually a good guy! Jesus doesn’t do that though. He goes on the offensive. He takes it up to a higher level. He gets to the core of the issue. He tells the man with the bad hand, stand up in front of everybody. It’s sabbath, he’s at church, and he’s disrupting the service, saying sir get up please. And the religious leaders are shocked.

This controversy seems to keep occurring with the Lord where he heals people on the day of rest. The day of rest, Saturdays for the Jews, was very important, that you did no work on the sabbath. But Jesus keeps healing people on the sabbath.

In verse 4, Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent.

Jesus goes right to the core of the issue, he basically tells the religious leaders: You are wrong. Plain and simple. It’s right to heal people, even on the day of rest.

Jesus does this for me, and for you, all the time. He speaks to us within and says, “You’re wrong.”

The Holy Spirit speaks to us, and says, "That isn’t right what you’re doing." The conviction of the Spirit comes very quickly. It speaks right to our heart. And we know, this isn’t right. Hopefully then we don’t do it. Or if we already did it, then we repent quickly, seek His forgiveness, and keep going.

Your salvation is at stake when you sin. And the Spirit will whisper that to you. Or shout it to you at times. Then you’ll repent, if you’re wise. Or, if you’re not so wise, you will not repent.

It depends on your heart. The seat of who you are, and your decision making. The heart. It’s about what is in your heart. And what influences your heart has taken in, what is your desire, what is your life pointed at? Where have you taken your heart in your choices? That’s the question.

In verse 5 and 6, it says, “5 He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. 6 Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.”

Jesus looks directly at their hearts. Standing that synagogue it was like time stood still for a moment and Jesus could see right into all their hearts. The bible says God looks at the heart. We tend to think we’re doing great. We’re rocking it. We’re pure as the driven snow. But the Bible says God looks at the heart.

Jesus is deeply distressed, shocked, disturbed by their stubborn hearts, their hard hearts. In fact it even says he looked at them in anger. He was angry about the condition of their hearts.

They were stubborn. And we as Americans are so very stubborn. We think we know everything. And we just want pleasure. Pleasure all the time. We want to feel good. We want the good life. And if someone tries to tell us something, well, we might listen, maybe, but we’re gonna make up our own mind, and if we don’t like it, we aren’t going to listen.

Similarly, the people in this synagogue, he can see how stubborn they are. They don’t want to believe. They don’t want Jesus. They aren’t listening. And it doesn’t even matter if Jesus heals someone right in front of them, they will still refuse to believe in Him.

Today the same is true. Some, even if Jesus appeared in front of them and told them to follow Him, they would still refuse. They would say whatever, it’s not true. I don’t believe that. That’s not my truth. And off they would go. It goes back to the heart. Their hearts refuse to listen. They refuse to accept it. They can’t stand it. The heart rejects the truth. Turns it away. Nope, I won’t listen.

I want to come back to this issue of the heart.

But right there, in front of everyone, Jesus healed the man’s shriveled hand. It was like new. Fully functional again. And if they would’ve turned to Him, everyone in that synagogue, Jesus would’ve healed their shriveled hearts too. He would’ve given them new hearts. But they didn’t.

What was their response? The Pharisees went and met with the Herodians to begin to plot to kill Jesus.

The irony here, is that the Pharisees despised the Herodians. The Herodians were a political party in Israel that supported one of the line of Herod to always be on the throne of the nation. And of course the Pharisees were deeply religious Jews who thought the opposite, that only one in the line of David should be the leader of Israel.

But here we find another spiritual principle, when we reject the truth we end up teaming up with evil in some way. It’s like in addiction, starting off you set some ground rules you say, I will never sell my body for drugs. I’ll never sell drugs. I’ll never drink and drive, and slowly but surely you find yourself making compromises, until you’ve become someone you don’t even recognize. It’s ugly.

Similarly in sin, like an addiction, we make compromises to support our sin, and pretty soon we’re teamed up with pure evil, and we’re doing things we said we’d never do. It’s bad.

The Pharisees in their hatred of Jesus are now teaming up with their political enemies to try to kill Jesus.

The Lord does this, he proves out who we really are. This goes back to the issue of the heart again. The heart of the Pharisees is revealed. They are proving they don’t really care about the line of David, they don’t really care about the coming messiah, what they want is power and control. And they’ll team up with pro-roman political groups to get what they want.

So this man is healed, Jesus' disciples I’m sure celebrate, the man and his family and friends I’m sure are celebrating as well, and we should celebrate too when God does great things in our church, in our personal lives. Celebrate! Get excited. Rejoice. We gotta do that more, celebrate what God is doing.

So what happens next? Jesus continues to follow this pattern, he moves in, creates a stir, heals people, gathers disciples, then he moves out again.

It says in verse 7-9: “Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed. 8 When they heard about all he was doing, many people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon. 9 Because of the crowd he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him, to keep the people from crowding him.”

Jesus is now teaching from this little boat, to crowds of hundreds and thousands. People are coming really from all over the region, even from the capital city of Jerusalem to hear Jesus teach and to receive healing. People are also coming to him to find deliverance from demons.

It says in verses 10-12: For he had healed many, so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him. 11 Whenever the impure spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.” 12 But he gave them strict orders not to tell others about him.”

Jesus is again healing people, casting our impure spirits, and these demons know he’s the Lord, they say, “you are the son of God.” But Jesus silences them. Jesus is carefully allowing his ministry to play out in the country of Israel. It’s all coming together. And it’s amazing.

Similarly in our own lives, God is playing things out at a particular pace. Everything doesn’t happen all at once. He guides you through seasons of trials, and seasons of encouragement. He guides you through repentance from sins. Then he’s working on humility in you, then patience. He has you ministering to one person. Then several people. He has you at group, then at another group, then meeting one on one with the pastor, he has you learning one book of the Bible, then another book, then he’s building your prayer time, then your devotional times. It’s all very intentional. And it’s all timed out for you to grow at a particular pace to do ministry successfully as a Christian. That’s the goal, successful, victorious ministry and personal growth.

And it all goes back to the heart. So what is in your heart?

Your heart is really you, your decisions. When you’re thinking about something, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and then making a particular decision, that’s your heart.

So much so that Proverb 23:7 says, “as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.”

When you react a certain way, to something someone says, whether positively or negatively, that’s your heart.

And sometimes we have to counter-step our heart. Sometimes someone says something rude to us. In our heart we get mad. But we recognize the anger, we step back and see it, and we stop and say no, I’m not going to get upset, I’m going to calm myself down. And that is a slight adjustment you just made in your heart.

Similarly, when someone corrects you, you might get a little proud, but instead of choosing that course in your heart, you stop and think no, I’m going to humble myself, and be teachable, you just made a decision in your heart. It's all adjusting the course of your heart.

And that is the practice of guarding your heart. Proverbs says guard your heart with all diligence. I really think it’s correcting bad thoughts with good thoughts, checking our thoughts against scripture, even checking our emotional reactions against scripture, and allowing God to mold our hearts in that way.

But ultimately our heart has to be made new by God. As it says it Psalm 51:10 ESV, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”

Pray that one, next time you feel a little off. "Renew in me Lord a right spirit, cleanse my heart."

When we first become a Christian, God gives us a new heart. Just like it says in Ezekiel 36:26 ESV "And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh."

Then we’re to steward the new heart we’ve been given. Guard it. Don’t let it become hardened. If it does, ask God to soften it once again.

In guarding our heart, the word of God is powerful to deal with the heart, it says in Hebrews 4:12 ESV “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

We’re commanded as Christians then toward this equation of the heart: Matthew 22:37 ESV “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”

It also says in Matthew 6:21 ESV "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

If your treasure is in heaven, your heart is going to be focused on God.

It says in the Psalms, Psalm 19:14 ESV "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer."

God sees the meditation of our hearts, so we want them to be pleasing and acceptable, not stubborn or hard-hearted.

And again it says, “Psalm 119:11 ESV I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.”

If you want to avoid sin, memorize scripture, store God’s word in your heart, so that it comes to mind again and again.

The goal at last is, on the last day, our heart is pure in Christ. And then…

Matthew 5:8 ESV “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

And we will see God face to face. But it takes a pure heart. A gift from God through Jesus Christ, but ours to guard on our way to eternal life.

Comparing the Butterfly to the Resurrection: Life and Death Examined

“Cancer had reduced six-year-old Christian to skin and bones. It was during his final days that nature bestowed its annual miracle. Millions of yellow butterflies invade northeast Oklahoma with a gentle firestorm of color and dance, covering the landscape and bringing unbridled joy after the bleakness of Oklahoma winter. But this gift seldom lasts more than a week before the yearly exodus of butterflies leaves on spring breezes.

Some friends went to the hospital to visit Christian. Though most of the butterflies had already flown away, one friend had managed to trap one for the dying boy. Christian peered at the imprisoned butterfly and then handed the jar to his mother, Marsha. “Mommy, please set him free. He’s like me, in a place he doesn’t like to be.” 

Marsha opened the window, took the lid off the bottle, and let the butterfly soar away. A wistful smile crossed Christian’s face. “I’m going to be like that butterfly when I fly away to Jesus in heaven.”

Christian died a few days later. There are few events filled with more anguish than a child’s funeral. Marsha and Gary dreaded going back to their country house filled with memories of their little boy. So their friends drove them back to the home they hadn’t seen in weeks of hospital stay.

As the car turned in to the long driveway, an amazing sight awaited. The lawn was covered with a carpet of yellow butterflies. They rose by the thousands in a joyous aerial ballet. Marsha ran into their swirling midst. For several joyous moments, butterflies danced about her. She forgot her grief and began to laugh with childish delight. Then they rose en masse to catch winds to faraway places.

Grief returned as quickly as it had left, and Marsha stood alone in the yard where Christian had once played. Then a solitary butterfly returned and landed gently on her nose. It sat for several seconds, its wings gently caressing her tear-stained cheeks before flying away.

Nature has no explanation for butterflies awaiting a grieving mother two weeks after the annual migration had left. Marsha was convinced the butterfly that came back to caress her face was the one released from the hospital room. To this day, all of us are sure that we witnessed a miracle. God had orchestrated this dance of the butterflies to remind Marsha and Gary Dance of what their boy had uttered during his final days in the hospital: “I’m going to be like that butterfly and fly away to Jesus.”

Did Christian know about one of nature’s great miracles? When a caterpillar is ready to turn into a butterfly, it fixes itself to a branch and wriggles out of its outer skin. Underneath is the chrysalis, which hardens to protect the insect as it transforms. It literally creates its own coffin. Then it dies, only to break out of its coffin as a butterfly destined for the heavens. It’s a story of resurrection. No wonder the day Jesus rose from the dead is symbolized by butterflies. Whenever you feel like hope is gone, remember Christian Dance’s story and the truth it teaches: If there were no death, there would be no butterflies.” -James Petterson

It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. -1 Corinthians 15:52

The little boy could see that the miraculous gift of the butterfly was evidence that Jesus Christ was alive and that he would live forever with Jesus after he died.

Do you have that same faith that Jesus Christ is alive? Do you really believe he rose from the dead?

I had an opportunity to visit the Frederik Meijer butterfly gardens in Grand Rapids last week, and got to experience the amazement of seeing hundreds of butterflies, floating through the air all around me, landing on people, shooting past our heads, it was absolutely amazing, and really brought an awe for the glory of what God has made.

The caterpillar forms a cocoon around itself, an ugly cocoon, hard and protective shell, and it seems dead and gone. But then a beautiful butterfly bursts out of the cocoon.

It’s similar with death, and living again. It says in 1st Corinthians 15:42-44: “It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies.”

Buried in brokenness, that rings true with me. Many of us have such terribly health problems, and when we see loved ones who are dying, we wonder how their broken bodies could ever live again. But in faith in Christ, we know Jesus Christ was raised from the brokenness of his body as it was mangled on the cross, scrouged with whips, beaten, bloodied, nails driven through his hands and feet, massive loss of blood, dehydration, physical death, even having a spear driven through his gut after he died, just to make sure he was dead.

Yet all of that could not stop God from bringing Jesus back to live from the dead,with a new body, a physical body, but healed and alive.

Which is why today we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We declare in faith, "He is Risen." Jesus is alive. Right now. He rose from the dead two thousand years ago. And his disciples were shocked to see him alive. Yet he had promised he would rise again.

Let me ask you this: Can a butterfly fly when it’s still a caterpillar? Of course not. It never could. Similarly, we cannot live forever in these old bodies. As it says in the scriptures, verses 45-50:

The Scriptures tell us, “The first man, Adam, became a living person.” But the last Adam—that is, Christ—is a life-giving Spirit. 46 What comes first is the natural body, then the spiritual body comes later. 47 Adam, the first man, was made from the dust of the earth, while Christ, the second man, came from heaven. 48 Earthly people are like the earthly man, and heavenly people are like the heavenly man. 49 Just as we are now like the earthly man, we will someday be like the heavenly man. 50 What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever.”

Adam, the first man, became death for us, because sin came to us through Adam’s first sin in the garden. But then when Jesus Christ became our savior, when we believed in Him, he became a “life giving Spirit” to us.

And Jesus produced in us a spring of water bubbling up within us to eternal life. Just as Jesus was raised, and has a new heavenly physical body, we too, when we die, will be raised again, and be given a new heavenly physical body. These bodies we are in now are subject to death, they get sick, they grow old, then die, but, our heavenly bodies, will never grow old, but will remain always healthy and full of that bubbling spiritual life.

But then Paul remarks on a beautiful secret, a mystery. He says, verses 51-53: “But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.”

This is referring to the rapture event. If we are alive when Jesus comes, we will be raised without dying. No one knows when that day will come. But with the world growing unstable and wicked, it could be any day now. If we are still alive when Jesus comes, well, then we’ll be changed in a moment, transformed, like the butterfly, transformed, from caterpillar to butterfly, and caught up into the sky.

So we should believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead. It’s the basis of our entire faith. He is risen. 

But, why? Why should we believe that? Here are some reasons why…

"1. Jesus predicted His resurrection (Matt 16:21; Mark 9:9-10; John 2:18-22).

2. The Old Testament prophesied it (Psalm 16:10; compare Acts 2:25-31; 13:33-37).

3. The tomb was empty and the grave clothes vacant. if those who opposed Christ wished to silence His disciples, all they had to do was produce a body, but they could not (John 20:3-9).

4. Many people saw the resurrected Christ. They looked on His face, touched Him, heard His voice, and saw Him eat (Matt. 28:16-20; Luke 24:13-39; John 20:11-29; John 21:1-9; Acts 1:6-11; 1 Cor. 15:3-8).

5. The lives of the disciples were revolutionized. Though they fled and even denied Christ at the time of His arrest, they later feared no one in their proclamation of the risen Christ (Matt 26:56, 69-75).6. The resurrection was the central message of the early church. The church grew with an unwavering conviction that Christ had risen and was the Lord of the church (Acts 4:33; 5:30-32; Rom. 5:24).

6. Each of the 11 disciples of Jesus proclaimed the message of the gospel boldly, and according to history each of them was martyred, lost their lives for Christ’s message. None of them said that they had made it up, all of them died for the message that Jesus was alive. Few if any would be willing to die for a lie. They would admit the lie under pressure, but the disciples never waivered from the message even in the face of death.

7. Men and women today testify that the power of the risen Christ has transformed their lives. We know that Jesus is alive not only because of the historical and biblical evidence but also because He has miraculously touched our lives." -Kurt E. DeHaan

Let us then not simply say, Jesus Christ is risen. But let us also say, “I shall rise.” (Phillip Brooks).

Since Jesus Christ is risen from the dead, since Jesus Christ is alive right now, since Jesus Christ is our savior, anything is possible!

Is there Evidence that Jesus Christ is Alive after Death? An Examination of the Facts

If Jesus is dead then I’m a fraud. If Jesus is dead right now, then we’re all a joke. The atheists would be right. The world would be right. All the good in the world wouldn’t really be good, all the bad wouldn’t really be bad, all our work would be for nothing, and our lives would be truly meaningless, if Jesus were really still dead.

But Jesus Christ is alive. Jesus predicted, two thousand years ago, that he would be betrayed, and killed, but that three days later he would rise from the dead. And then it happened. And the world was shocked. The chief priests were horrified, the romans were stupefied, and no one knew what to do next. They tried to deny it, millions today still try to deny it, but it remains true, a historical fact, that Jesus of Nazareth was seen by multiple witnesses alive, after being crucified. And these post-death appearances of Jesus affected his followers in such a radical way that they spread the gospel across the face of the Earth, the gospel that Jesus had died to pay off the sins of any who would follow Him, and that he has risen from the grave, to be the first of many who would rise from their graves, and live forever.

You’ll have to decide in your heart: Do you believe in miracles?

For me, it’s obvious that Jesus Christ is alive right now. Because he changed my life forever. He set me free from sins and addictions. He changed my family. My grandpa. My mom. He’s still changing lives everyday in this very city, and across the face of the Earth. Not only that, we have good reason to believe that Jesus is alive, evidence from history, archaeology, science, and ancient manuscripts. Overall, I believe, and yes, I know, Jesus Christ is alive. He rose from the dead. Because it’s clear as day, to see this truth.

Jesus predicted it would happen. Jesus was very strategic about what he said to his disciples. But he did say several times, the son of man must be betrayed, and killed, but then be raised from the dead three days later. It seemed like it didn’t quite click for the disciples what he was talking about. Maybe it kind of went in one ear and out the other.

But Jesus kept hinting to them. You think of when he raised Lazarus from the dead. He told Lazarus’ sisters, "I am the resurrection and the life, if you believe in me, though you die, you will live."

Again I don’t know if they truly understood what he was saying.

So we think to the crucifixion which we recognize on Good Friday. Jesus went through his all night ordeal and into the morning, being judged and condemned by the chief priests and the roman authorities. They had him charged with crimes, accused him and then found guilty and sentenced him to death, though he had done nothing wrong. He was scourged with whips, mocked, ridiculed, slapped, and a crown of thorns was forced onto his head. At 9 AM he was nailed to a wooden cross, and it was raised up and dropped into a hole in the ground.

There he suffered from 9am to noon. Then from noon until 3pm a total solar eclipse took place. And at 3pm Jesus died.

The disciples went into hiding. They didn’t understand what was happening and why it had happened the way it did.

They were struggling with unbelief, and fear. And we do the same thing don’t we? We give up sometimes just a bit too easily. Jesus died and his disciples thought it was over. But then something happened three days later, just as Jesus had predicted: Jesus was found to be alive.

There are numerous reports of post-death appearances of Jesus. People are seeing him alive. Not as a ghost. Not as a spirit. But physically alive.

There is this strange report of the stone being rolled way from his grave. The body is missing. The Romans aren’t sure what happened. The Jews aren’t sure what happened.

And you have several different accounts of Jesus appearing alive to people, Peter, Mary, all the eleven disciples, even a crowd of 500 people.

And here we find the very crucial key question of Christianity: Did Jesus really rise from the dead?

We can look at the pictures and the paintings and think how beautiful they are. We can read the accounts in Matthew or Luke and be inspired. But if we could go in a time machine and land our time machine outside the tomb on that morning, would we really see that Jesus Christ rose from the dead?

That’s the key to everything friends. If Jesus is dead right now, then we’re all wasting our time here. But, if Jesus is really alive right now, then every word of the Bible is true, and every single person on planet Earth needs to know about Jesus and get Jesus as their savior and Lord.

But what does it mean for us exactly? Let’s dive into that.

From 1st Corinthians 15:20-23: "But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died. So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. 22 Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life. 23 But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back.”

The first man talked about in 1st Corinthians 15 is talking about Adam. He was the first one created by God, so long ago, in the garden of Eden. We know a great disaster came through Adam and his wife Eve, when they were deceived, and rebelled against God.

And all of us, being part of the lineage, the family of Adam and Eve, are also born into sin. We naturally tend to toward sinfulness and selfishness.

Thousands of years later in AD 30, Jesus Christ was crucified and rose from the grave, to take his seat in heaven's throne-room as the new Adam. The new head of a new family of God.

So, we have a choice, we can remain as part of the lineage of Adam, and then we will die in our sins and face eternal death in hell. Or, we can join the new family, the family of God in Christ, and we will join in a new resurrection, a new eternal life, in a new paradise, when Jesus comes again.

That’s as real as anything in life, as real as your bank account as real as your car or your apartment, it’s real, it’s true, and God will base our eternal future, our destiny, on which family we are part of.

Christ has already been raised. He is seated as King in heaven right now. But, our resurrection will wait until Jesus returns again to gather his bride from the four corners of the Earth.

What happened when Jesus was resurrected? He was in his tomb. Just as many Christians are in the ground right now. But when Christ returns, those graves will be opened, just as Jesus grave was opened, and those Christians will rise to eternal life. And on that day, any who remain and are alive on the Earth at that moment will rise with the dead on that day as well, rise to new bodies, just as Christ had a new body after he was raised from the dead.

So we see that the resurrection of Jesus is a picture for us, of what will happen for us, when we die, if we die in Christ. Jesus death and resurrection is a depiction of our future if we follow Christ to the very end.

But the scripture continues, it says this, verses 24-26: "After that the end will come, when he will turn the Kingdom over to God the Father, having destroyed every ruler and authority and power. For Christ must reign until he humbles all his enemies beneath his feet. And the last enemy to be destroyed is death.”

Death is the enemy of every human on planet Earth. We all fear it. Christians hopefully learn not to fear it like people of the world do. But there were times in my life when I was close to death. I recall being in the ICU, with my organs shutting down, and being afraid that I might die. And I remember the fear that came over me was inexhaustible. It was an endless fear that could not be quenched. Because I did not know Christ then. So I faced a death worse than anything imaginable, an eternal death.

But Christ will reign, and is reigning, until he defeats every enemy. That will happen when Christ returns and defeats the anti-christ at the end of the great tribulation. And it will happen during the 1000 year millennial reign of Christ. And the last enemy Christ defeats is death itself, when at the end in Revelation, death is thrown into the lake of fire. And we see in the new Jerusalem there is no longer any death, but all live forever and will never die again.

Then it says in verse 27-28 of 1st Corinthians 15: "For the Scriptures say, “God has put all things under his authority.” (Of course, when it says “all things are under his authority,” that does not include God himself, who gave Christ his authority.) Then, when all things are under his authority, the Son will put himself under God’s authority, so that God, who gave his Son authority over all things, will be utterly supreme over everything everywhere.”

Lastly today, we see a not often cited theological truth: One day, after the millennial reign, when the new heavens and new earth come, Jesus Christ will give over his authority to God the Father, who will reign from then on. Jesus I assume will continue to have great authority, but the greatest authority will then belong to God the Father. So Christ eventually yields his authority to God the Father who gave the Son authority. So it indicates in 1st Corinthians 15, God the Father then reigns with supreme authority after the coming of the new Jerusalem.

So in conclusion today, Jesus Christ is indeed risen from the dead. How important is this fact? It could be the most important fact of the entire New Testament. I tend to think it is absolutely vital to understand. To conclude I’d like to share as quotation from Gary Habermas and J.P. Moreland which illustrates this point:

“Well over three hundred verses are concerned with the subject of Jesus' resurrection in the New Testament. We are told that this event is a sign for unbelievers (Matthew 12:38-40); cf. John 20:24-29) as well as the answer for the believer's doubt (Luke 24:38-43). It serves as the guarantee that Jesus' teachings are true (Acts 2:22-24; 1 Corinthians 15:12-20) and is the center of the gospel itself (Romans 4:24-25, 10:9; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Further, the resurrection is the impetus for evangelism (Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 10:39-43), the key indication of the believer's daily power to live the Christian life (Rom. 6:4-14, 8:9-11; Phil. 3:10) and the reason for the total commitment of our lives (Rom. 7:4; 1 Cor. 15:57-58). The resurrection even addresses the fear of death (John 11:25; 1 Cor. 15:54-58; cf. Hebrews 2:14-15) and is related to the second coming of Jesus (Acts 1:11; Revelation 1:7). Lastly, this event is a model of the Christian's resurrection from the dead (Acts 4:2; 1 Cor. 6:14; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18) and provides a foretaste of heaven for the believer (Philippians 3:20-21; 1 Peter 1:3-5).” -Gary R. Habermas & J.P. Moreland, Immortality - The Other Side of Death, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1992, p. 245.

So we can know that Jesus Christ is alive. Since he’s here with us right now, in this very moment in time. His Holy Spirit lives within us. We know billions across the planet have testified that Jesus changed their life. We know he has changed our lives. And he continues to change our lives each day.

And if we carefully follow Jesus Christ, and love Him first, and love his people with a patient, determined love, and we put to death the deeds of the flesh, and live by the Spirit’s leading, then we will enjoy that day when we meet Jesus Christ face to face and he embraces us as His own and welcomes us into a new city, a perfect country, a new world, without death, where we will dwell with him forever. Dedicate your life to His life, and you will have life, eternal life. Amen.