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Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel, which I preach to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that which I preached unto you, unless you have believed in vain.

For I delivered to you, first of all, that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve, and after that, He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that, He was seen by James, then by all the apostles, and last of all, He was seen by me also, as one born out of due time.

For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God, I am what I am, and His grace towards me was not in vain. I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach, and so you believe.

Let's pray. Father, we thank You for Your good word. We thank You, Jesus, that You are alive, that You are risen indeed, and that Your word says that You are seated at the right hand of the throne of glory. Lord, You rule and reign, and will rule and reign for eternity. We praise You that You are a good God, and we ask, God, that You would open the eyes of our understanding today, that we would see Your love in a greater way. We ask this in Jesus' name, and all God's people agreed, saying, Amen.

You can be seated. Jesus Christ is the most important figure in all history, and the resurrection is the most important event to ever have taken place. The first letter to the Corinthian church...

In 1 Corinthians chapter 15, Paul makes it clear that the resurrection is good news. It is the gospel, and it is good news that must be preached. This great and glorious news of the resurrected Christ needs to be declared. When it is preached and received by faith, this good news brings salvation. The gospel sets the believer, the one who places their faith in it, on a firm foundation of eternal salvation.

Yes, there were some skeptics 2,000 years ago, just as there are some today. However, the empty tomb and the 500 witnesses of the risen Lord stand as a strong challenge to even the most ardent naysayer. There is an empty tomb in Jerusalem. He is not there; He is risen. He is alive. The empty tomb and the 500-plus witnesses of the risen Lord challenge anyone who might say, "I'm just not sure that really took place." The evidence is available for anyone who will take the time to look into it.

I believe the evidence proves that Jesus of Nazareth was crucified, that He died on a Roman cross 2,000 years ago, on the eve before Passover, just outside the city of Jerusalem. His lifeless body was taken from that cross, hastily prepared for burial, and laid in a tomb immediately following His death. Then, in fulfillment of His own prophetic word and the prophetic words of prophets hundreds of years before He even came to the earth, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day. He rose victorious over sin and death. Jesus is alive. That's what the evidence shows, and we rejoice in the fact that He is alive.

Not only is He alive because He experienced resurrection, but because He is the resurrection. Jesus is the embodiment of the resurrection. He is the personification; He is the manifestation, if you will, of the resurrection. Maybe one of the best passages of Scripture that shows that is...

In the Gospel of John, chapter 11, we read about a very close and dear friend of Jesus named Lazarus. Lazarus was a man from the city of Bethany, a suburb just two miles east of Jerusalem. The opening words of John 11 reveal that Lazarus had fallen ill and, as a result of his sickness, he had died.

During His life and ministry, Jesus had healed many people who were sick. There were many with illnesses, many who were paralyzed, and some who had demons cast out of them. These people were given newness of life; they were healed of their sicknesses. If Jesus had been near the city of Bethany, there is no doubt in my mind that He could have healed His friend, and He probably would have. In fact, Jesus is so powerful that He could have healed Lazarus from afar. He didn't need to be in that city or at Lazarus's bedside while he was sick and near death.

However, Jesus delayed. The Gospel of John tells us that at that time of need, Jesus did not go to His friend who was in need. His delay was purposeful. Everything that Jesus does is purposeful. Through the illness and ultimately the death of Lazarus, we see that Jesus would be glorified, and it would be revealed just who He actually is. We would get to see who this one really is.

When Jesus came to Bethany, Lazarus had already been dead for four days. As He approached the city, He was greeted by one of Lazarus's sisters. He had two sisters, one named Mary and the other Martha. Martha came to Jesus and said to Him, "Lord, if you had been here, then my brother would still be alive." Clearly, Martha had some faith in Jesus. She believed that He had the power to save Lazarus, and that if He had been present, her brother would still be alive.

As we read on in the story of John chapter 11, we learn that Martha believed that even now, whatever Jesus asked of God, God would give Him.

Ask of God, and He will do for you. So, she had great faith in Jesus. She believed in Him. Maybe you have a form of faith today. Perhaps you believe that Jesus has some sort of power or that He has some sort of pull spiritually, or that He did have that.

Well, Jesus responded to Martha's statement, saying to her, "Your brother shall rise again." In verse 7, He reassures her, "Your brother shall rise again." Now, Martha did believe in an afterlife. She believed that there would be something to come after this life. After her brother breathed his last, she thought that something would happen. She says, "I know that he will rise again at the last day, at the resurrection." So, she had some faith in a coming afterlife.

Perhaps you, too, believe in an afterlife of sorts. You know that something is going to happen after this. Do you know that 81% of Americans believe in some form of an afterlife? When polled just a few years ago by Gallup, they said they believe that there is something that comes after this. There must be something more than this. Another 9% say that a life after death may exist. Only 10% of our population here in America says there is no such thing as an afterlife.

So today, if you say, "I do believe there's something; I think there's something after this life," then you're like 90% of Americans who believe that there is something, just like Martha in this story. Jesus responded to Martha's faith. After she said that, He spoke these great words in John chapter 11, verse 25: "I am the resurrection and the life. He that believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whosoever lives and believes in Me shall never die."

She said, "I know that my brother will rise again at the resurrection someday, out in the future, after the last day." Yes, sure, he will rise again. And Jesus looks at her and beholds her.

Looks into her eyes, maybe. And he says, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me shall never die." Powerful, powerful words.

You see, Jesus didn't just experience resurrection 2,000 years ago, which we celebrate every year on a holiday that we call Easter. It should probably be called Resurrection Day. This is the day we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He is risen. Yet, we recognize that there are some in our culture, even people who have some sort of pull in our culture, who are trying to deny that and even disregard it.

I noticed this morning that one of the first things I did after I got up was look at Google's website. How many of you know that Google, every single year, does a special graphic for holidays? I always like to see what graphic they are going to do. So, I figured for Easter, there has to be some sort of graphic. I went on there, and there was a picture of the Latino labor leader, Cesar Chavez. I guess it's Cesar Chavez Day, according to Google. Really? They completely disregarded that more than 200 million Americans believe that Jesus raised from the dead and that this is the day we celebrate. Yet, Google says it's Cesar Chavez Day.

There are more and more people who are trying to disregard the fact that Jesus is alive. He is alive not just because he experienced resurrection 2,000 years ago, but like he says here in John chapter 11, "I am the resurrection and the life." He declares that if you put your trust in him as the resurrection and the life, then though you experience physical death in this life—and we recognize that everyone will; the statistics are staggering: ten out of ten people die. It's not something we like to look forward to often, and it's not something we like to think about too much, but it is ultimately going to come.

So, although you may experience a physical death, a cessation of this life, Jesus says, "If you believe in me, you will live eternally and will never die spiritually." You will never taste what the Bible calls a second death, a judgment that will come. In just a few minutes, I'm going to give you the opportunity.

If you've never had it before, I want to give you the chance today to put your trust in Jesus as the resurrection and the life. I encourage you to put your faith in Him and experience the life that is only found in Him.

Our story here in John chapter 11 is not quite done. Jesus said to her in John 11:25, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, yet shall he live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die." Then He asked Martha a great question, perhaps one of the most important questions: "Do you believe this?"

You see, although Jesus is the resurrection and the life, and although people can lay hold of the resurrection and the life through Him, just believing that there is an afterlife is not sufficient. It may be good to believe such things; it may be right to believe that there is something that comes after this because it is true, but it's not enough. You may even believe that Jesus was powerful and that He has some sort of spiritual power or pull, yet believing that He just had power is not sufficient either.

You might ask, "Well, it's nice that Jesus said these things, but where's the proof?" Again, the story isn't over. Jesus asked Martha, "Do you believe this?" To which she responded in verse 27, "Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world."

But again, where's the proof? Are You really the resurrection and the life? In verse 38 of John chapter 11, we read that Jesus came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said to those who were gathered—there were probably many people because the mourners would come for days, crying and wailing because of Lazarus's death—He stood before this tomb, a cave with a rock in front of it, and said, "Open the tomb, take away the stone."

Martha replied, "Lord, by this time he stinketh. He has been in there for four days. By this time, it's kind of not a good situation."

Open that tomb! Jesus said to her in John chapter 11, verse 40, "Take away the stone. Did I not say to you that if you would believe, you would see the glory of God?" I ask you today, what stone of unbelief is standing before you? What is hindering you from putting your faith in the resurrection and the life that is only in Jesus Christ? He is the resurrection and the life.

Jesus prayed as they opened the tomb because finally they submitted to what He had requested. With a loud voice, He cried out, "Lazarus, come forth!" And Lazarus came out, waddling because he was bound in grave clothes. The Scriptures say that he had a cloth upon his face. Jesus then said to those who were gathered, "Loose him and let him go. Get him out of that stuff."

Perhaps you've wanted to come forth and follow Jesus, but you've been trapped in a tomb, bound up in grave clothes. Jesus calls us out of the tomb of death and commands us to be set free. His word is not given in vain. He calls us to come forth out of the tomb and commands that we be set free. In just a moment, I will give you the opportunity, if you've never had it before, to respond to His call in the same way that Lazarus did, publicly, in front of all those who are watching.

You were once dead in trespasses and sins, but Christ calls us forth to come out of the tomb. I want to give you an opportunity to respond to that. Before I do, I want to show you two responses that we find in this passage regarding the story of Lazarus and his rising from the dead. After Jesus said, "Loose him," after He said, "Get that guy out of those grave clothes," we read in verse 45 that many of the Jews who had come to Mary and had seen the things that Jesus did believed in Him. That is the first response, the right response. Many of the people who came to see Mary and Martha, to comfort them and stand with them in their time of grief, believed in Him.

Their time of grief and sorrow came as their brother Lazarus had died. They saw what Jesus did. They heard Him say, "Take the stone from the cave, from the mouth of the tomb." Then He said, "Lazarus, come forth." Jesus watched as all the people did as Lazarus came forth out of the tomb. There were people who stood there and said, "Okay, that's enough for me. I believe." Jesus, You said, "I am the resurrection and the life," and You just proved it. By giving this guy, who had been dead for four days—long enough to stink—you called him forth, and he came forth. They responded in the right way.

However, verse 46 says that some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things that Jesus did. The chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, "What shall we do with this man? What shall we do with this Jesus?" Then, in verse 53, after they had a little time of council together, they plotted to kill Him. They plotted to put Him to death after they had seen the raising of Lazarus from the dead. There was one group that believed, and another group that said, "Let's put Jesus to death."

In the next chapter, chapter 12, verse 10, it says that not only did they plot to kill Jesus, but they also plotted to kill Lazarus too. The guy who had just been raised from the dead, and they said, "Let's kill him too." They wanted to get rid of the proof. It was bad; they wanted to bury this thing. They didn't want people going around saying, "Hey, remember that guy Lazarus? He died and was raised from the dead four days later." So, they decided to kill Lazarus too.

This is the wrong response. The wrong response is to cover over the truth of the resurrected Jesus Christ with some form of pious religion that doesn't really bring one to salvation. It is an attempt to bury and put to rest the reality of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That is clearly the wrong response.

Jesus is the resurrection and the life, and He offers that resurrected life to you today. I want to give you an opportunity now to be loosed from the tomb and the grave clothes that you've been bound by, and to do so publicly. Today is the day to come out of the tomb. We're going to have a coming out party.

To come out of the tomb, you may ask, "How do I come?" The Scriptures make it very clear. The first thing we do is confess our sins. We confess those things that we have done that are against God, those things that have held us back from Him.

Secondly, we believe that Jesus died and that He rose again. He died for our sin and took our punishment upon Himself. Then He rose from the dead three days later.

Third, we accept that payment for our sins. We accept that Jesus has paid it all; all to Him we owe. Sin had left its crimson stain; He washed it white as snow. We receive the free gift of His grace, cleansing us from our sin and making us right once again with God.

Fourth, we repent. What that means is that we turn from our sins to follow Him.

Fifth, we follow Him publicly. You lived your sin very publicly; you lived your life against God in a way that people around you knew what kind of person you were. Therefore, we commit to follow Him publicly so that people would know that we have decided to follow Jesus, with no turning back.

The last thing I would say is, don't wait. This is the perfect day to come out of the tomb, to be loosed from the grave clothes that you've been bound by, and to follow Jesus.

Father, we thank You for the work that You're doing here in this place. We thank You that You are drawing people to Yourself, just as You said, that if You'd be lifted up, You'd draw all people to Yourself. We thank You that You are transforming hearts and lives by Your grace. That's what You do.

Lord, we thank You that You transform things. The cross, which was the most brutal form of death ever imagined, was so terrible that the Roman government wouldn't even allow Roman citizens to be crucified. They used it for the worst criminals or those that they saw as undeserving of life.

The worst. And yet, Jesus, because of what you did for us on the cross, we now wear that as a sign, a wonderful piece of jewelry. Lord, you've transformed the worst possible death into something we rejoice in. Not only do you do that, but you also transform those who are dead because of sin into those who are alive. We thank you for that. Amen.

In Romans chapter 10, we read that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. If you put your faith in Christ today, you are saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. The Scriptures say, "Whosoever believes in Him shall not be put to shame, for whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."

This last week, I had two memorial services, and next Saturday, I have another memorial service that I'm doing. I was thinking about this last night because it's interesting to see the three totally different lives represented in these memorial services. One of them was a man who had lived a life that maybe was not the best. As a result, he was taken suddenly in the prime of his life. Yet, he had put his faith in Christ. I remember talking with him about the Lord on a number of occasions. He believed in Jesus, and although his life may not have been the best to that point, he is with the Lord today, rejoicing in His presence. Amen.

Another service was for a lady who died at 85. She had not responded to the gospel, although family members had shared with her for many years. She did not respond to the gospel until just months before she died. Someone visited her in a nursing home and shared Christ with her, and she came to faith. Now, she is with the Lord.

Next Saturday, we will have a memorial service for another man, many of you know him—Brian Clark. Amen. Brian had a simple, childlike faith in Jesus, and he loved Jesus. It was very clear, as long as I knew Brian, from the time that I was a...

I was a freshman in high school playing football at Orange Glen High School, and he would come and cheer for me in the stands. As long as I knew him, he loved the Lord and followed Him. He wanted to serve Him. He died of cancer just a few weeks ago. Now, he is with Jesus in glory.

It doesn't matter where you are on that spectrum. Perhaps you've hardened your heart for a long time in this life, yet the Lord calls you to come forth. If you put your faith in Him, you are saved, and He will transform you.

Father, we do worship Your holy name today. You are holy and worthy of all our praise. God, we rejoice in what You are doing here in this place today. We rejoice in You. We thank You that You are here with us, and Lord, we pray for those who have put their faith in You today. They have put their trust in You and received new life, and we ask God that You would do a transformative work in their lives.

Lord, shine through them to their friends, their family members, and their friends at school or work, wherever they are. God, thank You that You make all things new. We praise You today in Jesus' name. Amen.