[0:00] your preacher looking better on television. I understand that we haven't got much to work with, but what we got, it needs to look a little better.
[0:11] Amen? So I bought me one of them Total Gems, and I'm... Thank you, Logan. It's not working?
[0:26] But you got to give it a chance. I ain't had it for six months. Get that turkey out from under the bed.
[0:39] For long. All right, it's preaching time. I'm glad you're here, and I want to preach to you tonight. In the book of 1 Corinthians, chapter 15, if you have your Bibles and you want to read along with us, we'll start at verse 35.
[1:00] 1 Corinthians, chapter 15, verse 35. The subject is the resurrection that's coming one day, hopefully soon.
[1:12] 1 Corinthians, chapter 15, verse 36. But some man will say, How are the dead raised up, and with what body do they kind? 2 Corinthians, chapter 15, verse 36. Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die.
[1:25] And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain. It may chance of wheat or some other grain. But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.
[1:44] All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.
[1:56] There are also celestial bodies and bodies terrestrial, but the glory of the celestial is one, the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars, for one star differs from another in glory.
[2:17] So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption. This is my favorite reading. Just let me read here, okay? It is sown in corruption.
[2:29] It is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor. It is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness. It is raised in power. It is sown a natural body.
[2:42] It is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, the first man, Adam, was made a living soul.
[2:55] The last, Adam, was made a quickening spirit. How be it that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural, and afterward that which is spiritual.
[3:07] The first man is of the earth, earthy. The second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy.
[3:18] And as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
[3:39] Behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
[3:56] For this corruptible must put on incorruption, this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
[4:14] O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, the strength of sin is the law, but thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
[4:28] Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as ye know that your labor is not in vain, in the Lord.
[4:40] Amen. Amen. There is, as today being the Sunday before election, there has been so much talk about change in this election.
[4:57] And I'm here tonight to talk about real change. Amen. Amen. I'm not talking about change in your pocket. Amen.
[5:07] Amen. I'm not talking about change of presidents. Amen. But if you'll look at verse 51, I'll show you the change that I'm talking about tonight.
[5:19] Behold, I'll show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. Do you see that? How am I going to be changed, preacher?
[5:32] Well, this mortal is going to put on immortality. This weak person is going to be raised in power. Amen. This corruptible, rottable person is going to be raised in incorruption.
[5:46] Amen. What a morning that will be. Amen. Whenever the real change comes. We wait for that change, the prophet said.
[5:57] I'll be satisfied when I awaken his likeness. What a wonderful day that will be. I want to preach, really, on the nature of the resurrection tonight.
[6:10] I believe in the resurrection with all my heart and soul. I believe that Christ died for our sins. I believe that the third day, he was resurrected from the grave.
[6:24] And because he lives, we can live. Because of the resurrection of Christ, you and I can look forward that there ain't no grave going to hold my body down.
[6:37] And if I'm alive when he comes, I'm going to be changed. In a moment, in the twinkle of an eye, very fast. As I said in our previous sermon today, it doesn't take God long to do something.
[6:52] When he decides to act in the twinkling of an eye, this thing can all be over. Wouldn't that be good? Wouldn't that be a shock to an unbelieving world?
[7:03] Let's pray together. Our Heavenly Father, we come to you tonight. Lord, we come to the throne of grace asking help. Father, our abilities are limited.
[7:17] Lord, our mind, our tongue, our vocabulary is limited tonight. But Lord, we know that you're unlimited. We know, our Father, that you're infinite where we're finite.
[7:29] And there's nothing too hard for God. Father, I pray tonight that you would help me to preach. And Lord, that I might tell the story of Jesus is my prayer.
[7:43] In his name, Amen. Amen. Now, all through the Old Testament, we have the types and sheds, the teachers call us.
[7:55] That is, they are little pictures, little snapshots of what is going to be. But the real thing so far exceeds the type of the shadow that is just almost incomprehensible.
[8:16] I appreciate the type of the Passover. The Passover lamb and the blood that was shed and the blood put on the door.
[8:27] And it redeemed Israel from Egypt that night. But that is so far overshadowed by Calvary.
[8:39] Would you agree with me that all of the blood on the Jewish altars that was slain, all of the lambs and bulls and goats and pigeons and turtle doves, all of them could never take away one sin.
[8:56] But the Lord Jesus Christ, when he came as the Lamb of God, he takes away the sin of the world. So much higher much higher is God's thoughts than our thoughts.
[9:11] I think that we see those pictures. I think they just tell us about what is going to happen on a future day.
[9:21] I want to tell you this. You probably never heard this, so listen up. You know how I mourn you all the time to dress up when you come to church.
[9:34] Haven't I told you that? Don't want you coming in here like you're going to the beach. I don't want you coming in here dressed casually. the church service is a picture of the rapture.
[9:49] And when that bell rings and the church assembles together, it's the picture of that day whenever the trumpet blows and the church assembles in the air.
[10:00] And I'd like to have on some real good looking clothes that day, wouldn't you? On that day we'll be dressed in garments that only the righteous can wear.
[10:11] And our feeble attempts to dress up down here are just a picture of that meeting in the air. And I'd like to be dressed. Well you say Jesus is going to provide our garments.
[10:24] That's true in a sense. But did you know that the Bible teaches on the wedding day that the bride is the one that's prepared her own? You go on to church casual like and you shop at the wedding with the wrong garments on and you love will get thrown out.
[10:41] Amen. How will you be dressed that day? Well that's too much Arminianism for you. I'm a Baptist and I'll back off of that.
[10:53] Romans chapter 1 verse 20 says the invisible things of God are clearly understood by the things that are made. In other words the things that we can't see about God He has allowed us to picture them with things that we can see.
[11:11] There are varying degrees of dress up in the church. Would you agree with that? There are folks that can't afford to have fancy $500 suits.
[11:24] There are folks that can't but what I'm trying to say is that there are varying degrees of glory in the church. there are varying degrees of glory in the heaven.
[11:39] One star doesn't shine like another star but every star ought to shine just as good as it can. And I'm looking for that day when we'll outshine the stars.
[11:52] How are the dead raised up is where we started. What will the resurrection be like? Is there a Romans chapter 1 verse 20 picture of that?
[12:04] There are six things that are taught here about the resurrection. Number one we are sown in corruption. We are raised in incorruption. Sown in dishonor but raised in glory.
[12:18] Sown in weakness but raised in power. Sown a natural body but raised a spiritual body. we bore the image of the earthly so we'll bear the image of the heavenly.
[12:31] There is a difference between celestial and terrestrial and the grave loses its victory and death loses its sting when God's people are raptured up to heaven.
[12:45] The apostle Paul was caught up to heaven and that catching up that he had it didn't change his place. Did you notice that? He didn't get that resurrection.
[12:58] I don't know what kind of body he got. I don't even know whether he's in the body or not. Whether he's in the body or out of the body I cannot tell. But I know he got up there and when he got up there and he came back to this earth I know that he was kind of suicidal from that time on.
[13:14] He had a desire to depart and be with Christ which is far better but more needful for the folks that he had hang around here. But I said that to say this. his flesh.
[13:27] God had to give him a thorn in the flesh to keep him in subjection after he saw that. But don't you know flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God but there's going to be a change come in our very flesh.
[13:45] We're going to get a body fashioned like unto his glorious body. Our vile body of corruption is going to go down but our glorious body of resurrection will come up that day.
[13:58] Death is in one sense a savior because we'll finally be free. Finally be free from all the temptations and struggles that it sets us free from this old sinful body is what it does.
[14:13] You see this body is a dishonorable body. It dishonors itself and it dishonors its God. but the Bible term that I want to use is whenever we pass away is like we are unclothed.
[14:32] Didn't it say that in 2nd Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 4? And Paul really didn't have a desire to be unclothed but he had a desire to be clothed upon with his house which was from heaven.
[14:48] with his revelation body, his resurrection body. In the book of Revelation chapter 6 and verse 11 there were these souls under the altar that were crying out to God and God gave them white robes to wear until they could get their resurrection body.
[15:11] Hang with me. We are talking about a change that is coming. And I can see as the old song said well over yonder and I see people dressed in white they're waiting on that day whenever they'll get that resurrection body.
[15:28] Putting off of the body actually does nothing towards saving your soul. If your soul is not saved whenever you put off the body then your soul won't be saved when you gain another body.
[15:42] It adds nothing to our standing with God. If you die tonight you'll just like a tree whichever way you fall that's the way you gonna be. Our standing is already accomplished by spiritual regeneration.
[16:00] It's a completed fight. I'm saved. Thank God I am saved. Hallelujah. I'm saved. Somebody shout right there. I'm saved.
[16:11] Thank God I'm saved. But my old body is not saved. It has to have glasses. In some cases it has to have wigs. In other cases it has to have Miss Clara.
[16:23] In other cases it has to have false teeth. There are some things we yet hope for. And the things that we're hoping for are the things that has to do not with the salvation of the soul.
[16:38] that's not a hope. Brother that's an established fight. That which you see is not what you hope for. What you hope for is that which you can't see.
[16:49] And what I haven't been able to see yet is that resurrection body that's free from sin. We expect a body fitted for heaven.
[17:00] This one's only fitted for earth. The difference between the Passover lamb and Calvary. Totally obliterated by Calvary.
[17:10] Our vile body is totally exceeded by that spiritual body. Paul uses the example of a seed. He talks about an acorn.
[17:22] Jesus did talk about a seed that falls in the ground and decays. But life comes from that seed. There is a, watch this, there is a biological connection between that which is sowed and that which comes up.
[17:39] Amen. That's right. They have corn 4,000 years old in Egypt and they found it, they planted it and the corn that had that life seed come up.
[17:57] Amen. It comes up and it doesn't come up carrots. Amen. That's right. The thing that survives death is our identity.
[18:10] Hallelujah. I mean that little guy there in the second row singing glory is going to be me. Amen. Now it's going to be a new me but it's going to be me just the same.
[18:25] Corn doesn't bring forth tomatoes. The DNA is different. I don't know how long or even if my body will have to go to the ground but regardless of how long it would go and lay in the ground there is a life force there that whenever the trumpet sounds and the call comes from the glory land I'm coming out of that grave and I'm coming in a resurrected body.
[18:52] Different types of life. There's different types of flesh. There's one flesh that's plant flesh if you will one that's animal flesh beast flesh one that's beast flesh and one that's human flesh and one that's bird flesh so we don't know exactly what kind of flesh we'll have but we know we'll have a body that's suited for heaven.
[19:17] My body now is only suited for earth. That is to say I can probably travel about four or five miles an hour if I'm running. Now I can get in a vehicle and that vehicle can take me faster than the speed of sound if I can pilot that thing but as for me myself all I can do is just gate along here about four or five mile an hour.
[19:40] If you're a real sprinter you might be able to get 15 or 20. Why preacher? Because you are only suited for travel on the earth. That's what you're suited for.
[19:52] How would we get to the end of the universe? Say if we had to go to the end of the universe could we make it at four or five miles an hour?
[20:06] The speed of light and you scientists can correct me 186,000 miles a second. Way too slow. Way too slow to get there. I'm preaching about change and I want to show you that our new bodies is going to have the ability to dissolve distance and to dissolve time and be there just as quick as you can think about being there.
[20:31] There's something about us already that can dissolve time. I think just last month the 26th of October when I hit that date and I got up that morning and just that quick 43 years passed away and I was unloading off a bus in Fort Knox, Kentucky.
[20:55] Amen. Do you know what I'm talking about? Doesn't seem like it took any time at all but it's been 43 years since then but there's something about my spiritual being that's able to dissolve time.
[21:11] Now I want to give you an example of distance being dissolved. I need to give you an example of what I'm talking about. So if you will turn with me to the gospel of St. John chapter 6.
[21:24] I'm preaching about changed body. I'm preaching about a body's going to be able to get around and make a Corvette look like it's a backing up. In John chapter 6, I'll start reading here at verse 19.
[21:44] John chapter 6 verse 19. So when they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs they see Jesus walking on the sea and draw an eye unto the ship and they were afraid but he saith unto them it is I be not afraid.
[22:04] Then they willingly received him into the ship immediately. They were the ship was at the land.
[22:14] Now they tell me that five or twenty furlongs will put you just about out to the middle of Galilee. But when Jesus come in the ship, just as soon as he got in the ship, that distance was dissolved and immediately they were at the land.
[22:37] You understand what I'm saying? In Revelation chapter 4, there was a door opened in heaven. And the apostle John was down here on the Isle of Patmos one minute and then immediately he was transported far beyond the billions of miles that our universe contains and he was at the throne of Almighty God just that fast.
[23:05] That distance dissolved when he said come up here. Immediately John crossed creation, our resurrection body will not be hampered or held by earth's dimensions.
[23:19] Amen. You want to go to China? I just went. Amen. You want to come back? I'm back. Time and space are dissolved with our resurrection body.
[23:32] It's not hampered. It's not natural anymore. It's a supernatural body. I'm not talking about something that man can accomplish. I'm talking about something that God can accomplish.
[23:43] God that can take the molecules of his body and somehow pass them through a locked door and show up in the upper room. Just like, I mean, Star Wars ain't got nothing on this book whenever you go to reading about the resurrection body.
[24:03] God will give us a body predisposed to fulfill his purpose. The purpose he had whenever he made Adam, God is going to allow us to do it.
[24:14] Not confined, but set free. In graduated degrees of glory. Would you agree with that? Philip was caught away, wasn't he?
[24:25] You remember that? There's so many things. People just read over in the Bible. Here he is at one place. He's caught away. He's over here at some other place. Amen. Philip was caught away.
[24:36] Come rapture morning, I'm going to get caught away. How fast, preacher, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, the dead in Christ will be raised and we which are alive and remain shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the air and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
[24:54] Our resurrection body will pass from being a corrupted body to an incorruption. This one's made from dust going back to dust.
[25:06] Of course, you heard the story about the little boy come in and asked mom, said, did you tell me that people come from dust? And she said, yes, son, they do.
[25:18] And said, well, didn't you tell me that people go back to dust? He said, yes, son, they do. And he said, well, mom, is somebody coming or going in there behind the bed?
[25:29] This body is from dust. It's sown in weakness, but it's raised in power.
[25:44] There is no more weakness in this body. Revelation chapter 21 gives us at least four no mores. There's no more death.
[25:55] There's no more sorrow. There's no more crying. There's no more pain. There's no more having to gather around the altar. Beg God, please help me with the pain that I have.
[26:06] All of that stuff will be passed away, and I'll have a body that is a supernatural body. One that's not corruption. Here it's our spirit that's willing.
[26:19] It's our body. It's our flesh that's weak. Even in preparing this sermon, I think I prepared this sermon on Friday. And I'd had a good night's sleep, and there wasn't any reason why I should be sleepy, but whenever I sat down and started preparing this sermon, I got the same thing that y'all got about this point in the sermon.
[26:43] For some reason or other. Did you ever do that? Did you ever want to? I went one time to hear Brother Mace Jackson, and of course he's dead and doesn't go to heaven now.
[26:56] And I love to hear the old man preach. And I went down and sat down in the church and he started preaching and somebody somewhere or rather come by and sprayed something that caused my eyelids.
[27:11] I was thinking today's the day we changed daylight savings time and we ought to be, every one of us ought to be just as wide awake as we could be. I sat in Sunday school this morning and I said, oh, oh, what's the matter?
[27:25] That's not going to happen in the glory land. In the glory land, the flesh is just as strong and just as willing as the spirit is.
[27:36] Amen. So, we need to be reminded whenever, I always like to give my people a break. I hate to be too hard on them. I remember Peter, James, and John when Jesus asked them if they would stay awake.
[27:51] They were there at the Garden of Gethsemane praying and same thing happened to them. Amen. So, I guess y'all go ahead and sleep. Adam came from clay.
[28:04] Jesus came from heaven. Adam received life and became a living soul. Jesus gives life and is a quick and in spirit. The resurrection body, is a body of honor, not of dishonor.
[28:20] My body betrays me. Does yours betray you? It is a body of dishonor. It'll dishonor my God. It'll dishonor me.
[28:32] It'll dishonor my parents. It'll dishonor my children. It'll dishonor my church. It'll dishonor my nation. But thank God that day's coming whenever I get a body that'll be a glorious body and a holy body and I'll never have to worry about dishonoring God again.
[28:50] Give you this illustration about the caterpillar. You know, the caterpillar's kind of a lowly little bug crawls around there everywhere he goes and he, I don't know, I'm not really up on kissing caterpillars.
[29:07] Maybe there's some folks here that are. But he crawls into that little tomb. Amen. He crawls into that little tomb, if you will, and after a period of time, he emerges not to crawl again.
[29:22] Whenever he gets ready to go somewhere, he flies. Amen. He emerges a totally different creature, but he's the same creature.
[29:33] Do you grasp what I'm saying? Verse 46 said, that which is spiritual is not first, but that which is natural. Now that lets me know that, you know, there's a heresy going around that says, well, we used to be all spirit beings up in heaven, and then we come down here to earth.
[29:53] Y'all heard that heresy? Heresy. H-E-R-E-S-Y. Y'all heard that? The first thing, the first time you show up is a natural showing up. You're not no little spirit floating around up there in the glory land waiting on a body.
[30:08] We're not spirit creatures from heaven. We had no prior existence until June the 13th, 1945. Well, nine months before then.
[30:18] Our first existence is that of a fleshly birth, weakened birth, dishonorable birth, a birth that was ruined by sin, polluted by sin, with a destiny of death.
[30:36] And that kind of a person cannot inherit the kingdom of God. We're not fit for it. Flesh and blood is unsuited for heaven. But I want you to know that death is not our victor.
[30:49] I want you to know that though we're unsuited for heaven whenever we go down, we'll be granted access to the glory land whenever we come up. And we'll look back at the grave and look back at the sting of sin and say, you couldn't hold me down.
[31:06] That thing that held me down, we could not die if it wasn't for sin. And that sin is gone. And I'm changed forevermore. Hallelujah.
[31:17] Jesus took my sins away. The old song says, I'll have a new body. Praise the Lord, I'll have a new life. Thanks be to God which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
[31:31] So then when this corruptible must put on incorruption, this body of dishonor is raised in glory. This body of weakness is raised in power. This natural body is raised in spiritual body.
[31:45] Grave will have no victory. And verse 51 will be changed. Real change. Not change some ignorant Muslim promising.
[31:57] But real change. Changed into his likeness. Then I'll be satisfied. Let's bow. Heads are bowed, eyes are closed.
[32:12] Listen, no one looking around for just a moment. Sometimes I can't hardly wait for that day. Sometimes I, and I know that I don't hurt half as bad as my church people do.
[32:29] But these mornings I don't even want to get out of bed. These times my back hurts. These times my feet hurts. My knees hurts. I got to the point where I can't hardly get down the floor.
[32:41] I get down the floor. I need something to help me back up. It used to be that way. But thank God it ain't always going to be that way.
[32:53] One of these days I'm going to have a body that like the old cow in the fable going to jump over the moon. A little dog will laugh. See such a sight.
[33:04] Amen. Come back here with my spoon. I'm going to the wedding. I'm going to the banquet feast. I'll have a new body changed into his likeness.
[33:19] I'm going to pray. Do you want me to pray for you? God bless you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Hands are lifted. Amen. Thank you.
[33:30] Thank you. Our Father in heaven. Lord we do not come to complain. Father you've been good to us. Lord we appreciate your goodness to us.
[33:42] We're slowing down Lord as we go through this life. Father we've got a promise. One of these days you're going to change our body.
[33:53] Give us a body fashion like unto your own glorious body. What manner of love you've bestowed on us that we'd be called your sons. God help us. It does not yet appear what we'll be but we know that when you appear we'll be like you.
[34:09] God help us. While we travel this pathway walk around on your footstool. Breathe your air. Eat your food.
[34:21] God help us to remember that we're bound for glory one sweet day. every hand that was lifted. Father I pray your blessings on their life.
[34:35] In Jesus name. Amen. Let's stand and sing. through thé „. Trust Him now.
[35:14] He will save you. He will save you. He will save you now. Amen.
[35:27] Thank you for coming tonight. I hope you got something from me. I hope that will encourage you. You'll go in there digging around and say, Look here, man, what I'm going to have one of these days. Promises of God.
[35:40] I appreciate them. I live for them. The older you get, the closer you get to the promised land. It looks to me like the more you desire to be there.
[35:52] Headed for the barn. Oh, I don't know. I'm not going to check out tonight. But if I do, don't worry about me. Amen. Amen. I'm headed for the glory land. All right.
[36:03] Thank you for coming. Any announcements before we close? We'll be back to school tomorrow night. Lord Willem. We're just plowing through the book of Genesis.
[36:15] Got down to that guy. He's got his light on the bushel. He's been doing real well. We'll see if he gets in a hurry or he drags his feet. And it's through the thing.
[36:26]