In his sermon, 'The Truth about the Resurrection,' David Green explores the significance of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, drawing on Acts chapter 1 and references to Charles Spurgeon. He emphasizes the importance of recognizing every Sunday as a commemoration of the resurrection, rather than limiting it to Easter Sunday. Green highlights the 'infallible proofs' of Jesus' resurrection, citing the direct experiences of the apostles and early Christians who witnessed the risen Christ. He addresses doubts about the resurrection, referencing Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 15 to underline the futility of faith without the resurrection. Green stresses the eternal significance of the resurrection, urging believers to share this truth and warning of the eternal consequences for those who do not believe. The message underscores the hope and assurance found in the resurrection, asserting it as the cornerstone of Christian faith.

Acts chapter 1, Lord Willem will get back to our study in 1 Corinthians when I come back for my trip. But in Acts chapter 1 this morning I'd like for us to consider verses 1 through 3. The former treatise, have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which he was taken up after that he, through the Holy Ghost, had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen, to whom also he showed or presented himself alive after his passion or suffering, by many infallible proofs being seen of the forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. I'm going to preach this morning on the truth of the resurrection. The resurrection, the truth of the resurrection.

This introduction to Acts is one of my favorites. I love how it's written. I chose it for a text this morning for that reason. On March 28th, 1880, Charles Spurgeon stood before the congregation, the Metropolitan Tabernacle in England. He spoke these words in his sermon.

He said, to set apart an Easter Sunday for special memory of the Resurrection is a human device for which there is no scriptural command, but to make every Lord's day an Easter Sunday is due him who rose early on the first day of the week. We gather together on the first rather than upon the seventh day of the week because redemption is even a greater work than creation and more worthy of commemoration and because the rest which follow creation is far outdone by that which ensues upon the completion of redemption. To that we say amen. It is good to live in a country where men and women can make proclamation about the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The president can make a declaration.

Businesses can choose to be closed or in fact it's good to live in a country where where men and women and folks can choose to be against that sort of thing. I'm thankful to live in America. Today is Today is April 20th, 2025. On our calendar it does say Easter Sunday. Indeed, all weekend long, much has been said in many circles about the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.

I find it hard to believe that Jesus was crucified on a Friday and rose on a Sunday. But I do believe that he was indeed crucified. And by the time Sunday morning come around, that tomb was empty. And I do rejoice, even if I may disagree on the dates, I do rejoice every time that the gospel is preached. Spurgeon, so long ago, 145 years ago by my calculation, said to make every Sunday an Easter celebration.

And what he meant by that was not to have egg hunts and bunnies and all that sort of thing. What he meant was to have a day to remember the resurrection of our Lord. And that's what the Lord today is all about. And if somebody would have wandered into these four walls today, just for the one reason of Easter, It ought to thrill our souls. But it ought to give us a space to encourage that person about the truth of the resurrection, to encourage them that we were so glad that they came and weren't they coming in next week as well, and the week after that, and the week after that as well.

For so many people, Christianity is a once or twice a thing in the year and that's it. But oh, it's so much more than that. Today there are, the gospel is being preached in many places, but there are also many distractions. Easter bunnies, eggs, candies, all those things that today are exciting, but tomorrow they'll be half off at the grocery store and the pharmacy and everywhere else that sells those candies. Those things will fade.

But what matters doesn't. And that is that Jesus is alive. Jesus rose again from the grave. That doesn't get old. That's a message that doesn't, has no expiration date.

It's a message that doesn't get cheapened with time. It's a message that we can pull off the shelf, so to speak. We can take it and preach it every day of the week, every day of the year. We don't have to wait until our calendar says Easter or something. In our text, here in the King James, the translators put this phrase, infallible proofs.

I like that. The legacy standard uses the word convincing proofs. I like that too. When Luke wrote this, he actually used a Greek word that's only used this one time, and it means literally many criteria of certainty. It's the only time in all of the Bible that this word in the Greek is used.

There's a lot of words in your Bible, a lot of words that are repeated in your Bible. It's significant that the inspired word of God only applies this to the resurrection of Christ. Charles Spurgeon, again, I believe it was a different sermon, but he said the resurrection is a fact better attested than any event recorded in any history, whether ancient or modern. Whether ancient or modern. There are many infallible proofs, many convincing proofs.

To the first Christians, faith in Christ, faith in the deity of Christ, faith in the resurrected Christ was not just a leap in the dark. It wasn't a hope so, maybe so, I hope this is right kind of a thing. No, no. They knew. They saw.

They beheld, as John put it in his epistle that we've been studying there in 1 John. They knew beyond all doubt that Jesus Christ had risen bodily from the grave. They'd seen him, they touched him, they ate with him, they'd been with him alone and in crowds. They were in closed rooms and out in the open. Much has been written, much has been preached.

I've preached a lot about this. And for good reason. Luke says, I'm writing these things about Jesus. He'd written his gospel already. He had written his gospel already.

Luke's gospel, now he's writing his second volume to Theophilus. Well done. He says, he says there are infallible proofs, infallible proofs. Every Sunday, every Wednesday, every time that I'm privileged to go preach somewhere else, I open up a book, the Bible, And I preach. I preach from a book full of these facts.

He showed himself alive. He presented himself alive. These are the facts. We attest to that every time we meet, every time we preach, every time we gather as a church. Indeed, the early church, the preachers, many of those who were there, they lived for this and they died for it.

So it is today. This is what we live for. And indeed, I can speak for myself and I'm sure you all would agree this is what we would be willing to die for as well. God was incarnate in Christ Jesus. He was born in the flesh.

He lived here as a man, holy and perfect without blemish, no sin at all. He died on the Cruel Cross for sinners, including me, you. He was buried, and on the third day he rose again. Buried in that borrowed tomb but on the third day he rose again from the dead and after many days and many witnesses, many days and many witnesses, infallible proofs, convincing proofs, he ascended back to heaven where he's now at the father's throne and One day, one day, he will return. One day, we'll all stand before him in judgment.

This is this gospel message, this message of Jesus, this message of the cross is the most important of all messages that you will ever hear. It's the most important message that you can ever share with someone else. Paul Paul put it this way to the Church of Corinth in 1 Corinthians chapter 15. Beginner verse 1, he says, Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also you have received and wherein you stand, by which also you are saved if you keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless you have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how the Christ died for our sins according to scriptures, that he was buried, and then he rose again the third day according to the scriptures, That he was seen of Cephas, then of the Twelve.

After that he was seen of above five hundred brethren, and once of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he says, he was seen of James, then of all the apostles. Last of all, he was seen of me also, as a one born out of due time. This is the message, this message that he delivered to the Church of Corinth, first of all, or of first importance. This is the most important thing that he delivered to the Church of Corinth.

And so today, as we think about this, this is the most important message. Still 2000 years later, It's most important because it has eternal consequences. Do you believe him? Have you trusted in him? Have you repented of your sins?

You will stand before him someday in judgment. Are you ready for that day? When we think about America, and we have it on the calendar, but it's not a calendar date so we can just have a holiday like Martin Luther King Jr. Or George Washington. Oh, it's more than that.

And even when we take and we consider that every Sunday is the Lord's Day and we come together to assemble because Jesus is resurrected because he is alive. It's not just a checkbox so we can move on to the rest of the day or the rest of the week. It's more than that. In fact, in what we're right here in 1st Corinthians, chapter 15, look there at verse 12. Going down to verse 19.

Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead. If there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen. And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain. Your faith is also vain. 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.

For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised. And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain. Ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable." Paul lays out his case very meticulously here.

All the troubles that were going on at Corinth, apparently there were some who would come into church and they said, oh, there's no resurrection of the dead. You imagine. There was a lot of that sort of thing going on at the Church of Corinth. Actually, in the early churches, think of it this way. Your first century Christian, Jesus has come.

You expect that the kingdom is going to be set up and all those things and doesn't quite happen the way that you thought it was gonna happen. Jesus leaves. Now all of a sudden, well Jesus leaves with the promise to return. Okay. Now all of a sudden, people start dying.

They didn't have the complete canon like we do. Even those scriptures that were written, not everybody had access to everything. Questions start coming up. People ask, What's going on? My relatives are dead.

They were waiting for Jesus. What's going to happen to them? False teachers started coming in and saying, well, there's no resurrection of the dead. It was an idea that had crept in sometimes from the Pharisees and sometimes from others, But Paul says, how do you say that? If there's no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen?

If Christ isn't risen, then our preaching is vain. Our Preaching is futile. It's worthless. You go back to Ecclesiastes and what was the preacher finding out? Vanity of vanities.

All is vanity. If Christ is not raised, we have no real hope, no real message. Don't ever preach a gospel where you talk about the death of Jesus and leave him in the grave. That's not the complete gospel. Jesus did die.

He did go to the grave, but he rose again. And that's important. As we find here in the text in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, where if Jesus is not raised then you're still in your sins. Lots of people died. If Jesus didn't raise, you're still in your sins.

Your loved ones who died, they have no hope. They're perished, dead, gone, end of story. He says, were found false witnesses of God, all of the apostles, they wrote that he had risen again and they died for that. Who would be willing to die for a lie? You see, if in this life only, I love this, we have hope in Christ, We are all men most miserable.

This isn't just a message for us now. This is a message for all eternity. Indeed. You eternity. Indeed, you believe it, you go on to heaven when you die, and forever you'll rejoice in the presence of the risen Lamb.

But if you don't believe it, and you've heard the preaching of this message, you'll die, you'll go to an eternal hell, and for eternity, the words of 1 Corinthians chapter 15, the words of 1st John 1, the words of Acts chapter 1 will forever ring in your hearing. It's a testimony throughout all eternity of the truth of the resurrection. Is it a big deal that Christ grows from the grave? Absolutely it is. We serve, we have a living Savior.

And it ought to thrill our souls to be able to proclaim Him, to be able to serve Him, to be able to to be able to to tell others about Him this day and every day. He says, if in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are all men most miserable. To that, I would say, amen but also, I would say this the invitation is there to come to Christ. Why will you be miserable without him? All this life is terrible, but how great it is with Christ who has promised never to leave us nor forsake us, and indeed he and he will take us and indeed he will carry us through from here on on into heaven and into eternity.

Paul or as Luke wrote in our text in Acts chapter 1 as I bring this to a close. To whom he presented himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. And what he goes on, he says, I'm being assembled together with them, commanded them. They should not depart from Jerusalem but wait for the promise of the Father, which saith he you've heard of me. For John truly baptized with water, but he shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence." Then after speaking to them forty days about things pertaining to the kingdom of God, verse six he says, When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?

Yeah, kind of like us slow learners. But he said to them, it's not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father hath put in his own power, ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you. Ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. And when He had spoken these things, while they beheld. While they beheld, he was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their sight.

While they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as you've seen him go into heaven. Praise God. Jesus is alive. He rose again.

There are many infallible, convincing proofs of this. He did go up back to heaven and one day he is coming back. He is coming back in light manner as you're seeing him going to heaven. It could be today. It could be today.

But even if it's not in our lifetime, the reality is we'll all die. And what a terrible tragedy it would be to die without Christ. There's only one Savior, one hope, and that is Jesus. Believe in Him. You've heard the You've heard together.