WEBVTT 00:00:01.000 --> 00:00:05.620 Well, please take your Bibles and open them up this morning to the book of 1 Corinthians. 00:00:06.360 --> 00:00:11.279 ! Our passage this morning is the second half of chapter 15. 00:00:11.419 --> 00:00:15.500 ! It's 1 Corinthians 15, verses 35-58. 00:00:15.880 --> 00:00:20.039 If you don't have your own Bibles, you can find that in the pew Bibles there in front of you. 00:00:20.120 --> 00:00:23.839 1 Corinthians 15, verses 35-58. 00:00:24.199 --> 00:00:28.300 And when you found it in your Bibles, let's stand in honor of the reading of God's Word this morning. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:59.980 1 Corinthians 15, verses 35-58. 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:02.000 1 Corinthians 15, verses 36-58. 00:01:02.000 --> 00:01:04.000 1 Corinthians 15, verses 36-58. 00:01:04.000 --> 00:01:06.000 1 Corinthians 15, verses 36-59. 00:01:06.000 --> 00:01:08.000 1 Corinthians 15, verse 37-58. 00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:08.000 00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:10.000 1 Corinthians 15, verse 37-58. 00:01:10.000 --> 00:01:10.000 00:01:10.000 --> 00:01:10.000 00:01:10.000 --> 00:01:10.000 00:01:10.000 --> 00:01:10.000 00:01:10.000 --> 00:01:10.000 00:01:10.000 --> 00:01:10.000 00:01:10.000 --> 00:01:11.000 1 Corinthians 15, verse 37-58. 00:01:11.000 --> 00:01:12.000 1 Corinthians 15, verse 37-58. 00:01:12.000 --> 00:01:13.099 1 Corinthians 15, verse 37-58. 00:01:13.099 --> 00:01:14.099 1 Corinthians 15, verse 37-58. 00:01:14.099 --> 00:01:15.000 1 Corinthians 15, verse 37-58. 00:01:15.000 --> 00:01:15.000 00:01:15.000 --> 00:01:17.000 1 Corinthians 15, verse 37-58. 00:01:17.000 --> 00:01:17.980 1 Corinthians 15, verse 37-58. 00:01:17.980 --> 00:01:27.039 1 Corinthians 15, verse 37-58. 00:01:27.039 --> 00:01:27.039 00:01:27.039 --> 00:01:29.039 1 Corinthians 15, verse 37-58. 00:01:29.040 --> 00:01:31.280 What is sown is perishable. 00:01:31.600 --> 00:01:34.080 What is raised is imperishable. 00:01:34.860 --> 00:01:36.260 It is sown in dishonor. 00:01:36.340 --> 00:01:38.060 It is raised in glory. 00:01:38.719 --> 00:01:40.100 It is sown in weakness. 00:01:40.300 --> 00:01:41.620 It is raised in power. 00:01:42.420 --> 00:01:44.200 It is sown a natural body. 00:01:44.300 --> 00:01:46.580 It is raised a spiritual body. 00:01:47.340 --> 00:01:50.240 If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 00:01:51.080 --> 00:01:51.860 Thus it is written, 00:01:52.460 --> 00:01:54.719 The first man Adam became a living being. 00:01:54.719 --> 00:01:58.160 The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 00:01:59.040 --> 00:02:03.120 But it is not the spiritual that's first, but the natural and then the spiritual. 00:02:04.020 --> 00:02:06.980 The first man was from the earth, a man of dust. 00:02:07.540 --> 00:02:09.360 The second man is from heaven. 00:02:10.260 --> 00:02:13.900 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust. 00:02:14.200 --> 00:02:18.879 And as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 00:02:19.700 --> 00:02:22.379 Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, 00:02:22.680 --> 00:02:26.300 we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. 00:02:27.219 --> 00:02:28.460 I'll tell you this, brothers. 00:02:28.460 --> 00:02:31.860 Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. 00:02:32.480 --> 00:02:34.860 Nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 00:02:35.659 --> 00:02:37.800 Behold, I tell you a mystery. 00:02:38.600 --> 00:02:43.640 We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment. 00:02:44.280 --> 00:02:46.480 In the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. 00:02:47.200 --> 00:02:51.740 For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable. 00:02:52.100 --> 00:02:53.600 And we shall be changed. 00:02:53.599 --> 00:02:57.239 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, 00:02:57.560 --> 00:03:00.620 and this mortal body must put on immortality. 00:03:00.620 --> 00:03:05.580 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, 00:03:06.020 --> 00:03:08.680 then shall come to pass the saying that is written, 00:03:09.539 --> 00:03:11.640 Death is swallowed up in victory. 00:03:12.480 --> 00:03:13.879 O death, where is your victory? 00:03:14.580 --> 00:03:16.120 O death, where is your sting? 00:03:16.120 --> 00:03:16.259 The sting. 00:03:16.719 --> 00:03:21.460 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 00:03:21.879 --> 00:03:26.819 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:03:28.140 --> 00:03:31.780 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, 00:03:32.520 --> 00:03:34.700 always abounding in the work of the Lord, 00:03:35.300 --> 00:03:39.319 knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. 00:03:39.319 --> 00:03:44.979 The grass withers, and the flower fades, but the word of the Lord endures forever. 00:03:45.359 --> 00:03:48.299 Father, we praise you for this word, and we pray again, 00:03:48.379 --> 00:03:54.579 would you fix our hope on eternity with Christ resurrected in the new heavens and new earth. 00:03:54.659 --> 00:03:55.639 We pray in Christ's name. 00:03:56.180 --> 00:03:56.419 Amen. 00:03:57.159 --> 00:03:58.340 You may be seated. 00:04:02.659 --> 00:04:06.519 Well, this is week two of our mini-series on the resurrection. 00:04:06.520 --> 00:04:12.520 Last week, Easter Sunday, we saw the glorious truth of Jesus' resurrection from the dead. 00:04:12.760 --> 00:04:15.939 And the plan is, this week and Lord willing, next week, 00:04:16.240 --> 00:04:19.860 we're going to continue exploring this truth of resurrection 00:04:19.860 --> 00:04:25.600 as we look at the implications that Jesus' resurrection has for us. 00:04:26.500 --> 00:04:28.280 And so I want to ask the question this morning, 00:04:29.240 --> 00:04:32.780 is it possible to be too spiritual? 00:04:32.779 --> 00:04:38.699 Is it possible to be too spiritually minded? 00:04:38.859 --> 00:04:40.239 You may have heard the quote before. 00:04:40.359 --> 00:04:43.000 It's often falsely attributed to C.S. Lewis. 00:04:43.699 --> 00:04:45.719 It says, you don't have a soul. 00:04:45.899 --> 00:04:46.699 You are a soul. 00:04:47.519 --> 00:04:48.959 You have a body. 00:04:50.419 --> 00:04:51.839 You don't have a soul. 00:04:52.000 --> 00:04:53.339 You are a soul. 00:04:53.439 --> 00:04:54.619 That's what you really are. 00:04:54.699 --> 00:04:55.979 You're spiritual in nature. 00:04:56.139 --> 00:04:58.159 You just have a body. 00:04:58.160 --> 00:05:03.360 The soul is what lasts forever, but this body is kind of an accessory to the soul 00:05:03.360 --> 00:05:06.240 that eventually will be discarded and done away with. 00:05:06.540 --> 00:05:10.320 Apparently, C.S. Lewis never said that, not on record at least. 00:05:10.880 --> 00:05:13.620 And to be honest, I'm not sure who originally said that. 00:05:13.840 --> 00:05:15.800 But as we look at our passage here this morning, 00:05:16.020 --> 00:05:19.580 it may as well have been somebody from the church in Corinth. 00:05:21.000 --> 00:05:23.580 Now, apparently, as we saw last week, 00:05:23.860 --> 00:05:27.080 the Corinthians are having some issues here in the church. 00:05:27.079 --> 00:05:30.699 They're having some very serious practical, moral issues 00:05:30.699 --> 00:05:32.120 that Paul addresses in this letter. 00:05:32.680 --> 00:05:36.079 They're also having some doctrinal issues here in the church. 00:05:36.279 --> 00:05:39.319 Some there in Corinth are trying to remove 00:05:39.319 --> 00:05:42.819 a key fundamental piece of Christian doctrine. 00:05:42.959 --> 00:05:43.860 You remember what it was? 00:05:44.360 --> 00:05:47.579 They could not wrap their minds around the reality 00:05:47.579 --> 00:05:49.740 of the resurrection from the dead. 00:05:50.719 --> 00:05:53.219 As we saw last time in the first half of the chapter, 00:05:53.220 --> 00:05:58.280 Paul confidently argued that if the dead are not raised, 00:05:58.400 --> 00:06:00.200 then Christ is not raised. 00:06:00.720 --> 00:06:02.500 And if Christ is not raised, 00:06:02.580 --> 00:06:04.720 then this whole structure of Christianity 00:06:04.720 --> 00:06:07.340 comes crumbling down to the ground. 00:06:07.740 --> 00:06:10.100 They had such a hard time wrapping their minds 00:06:10.100 --> 00:06:13.620 around a physical future for the people of God. 00:06:14.460 --> 00:06:17.800 It seems as if the Corinthians were just so spiritual, 00:06:17.800 --> 00:06:20.340 spiritual, so spiritually minded, 00:06:20.600 --> 00:06:23.819 so spiritually focused, so spiritually oriented 00:06:23.819 --> 00:06:28.660 that they simply could not conceive of a physical future. 00:06:29.480 --> 00:06:31.560 The physical body for them was an afterthought 00:06:31.560 --> 00:06:34.639 and the resurrection body was an absurdity. 00:06:35.360 --> 00:06:38.920 Why in the world would we need or want a new body? 00:06:40.519 --> 00:06:44.560 As I thought about this issue there in Corinth this week, 00:06:44.560 --> 00:06:47.879 I thought, you know what, that's not just a Corinthian problem, is it? 00:06:49.459 --> 00:06:53.660 I'd be willing to argue that many modern Christians 00:06:53.660 --> 00:07:00.160 are far too spiritual in their understanding of eternity. 00:07:01.160 --> 00:07:03.560 For many Christians, our view of eternity 00:07:03.560 --> 00:07:05.340 and what happens after we die, 00:07:05.480 --> 00:07:09.000 our hope for the future, ends with heaven. 00:07:10.180 --> 00:07:12.899 It ends with us escaping from this world. 00:07:12.899 --> 00:07:16.500 It ends with the separation of body and soul. 00:07:16.699 --> 00:07:19.000 It ends with us getting rid of these old bodies 00:07:19.000 --> 00:07:20.299 and going to be with the Lord. 00:07:20.419 --> 00:07:24.219 And praise God, all of that is true for you in Christ, believer. 00:07:25.319 --> 00:07:26.959 But here we see, Paul says, 00:07:27.039 --> 00:07:30.279 our future hope is even greater than that. 00:07:31.399 --> 00:07:33.599 The hope that we have in Christ, 00:07:33.719 --> 00:07:35.919 the hope that Christ has purchased for His people 00:07:35.919 --> 00:07:38.519 by His resurrection from the dead, 00:07:38.519 --> 00:07:45.000 is that we too will be raised up like Him at the last day 00:07:45.000 --> 00:07:49.519 with new, glorified, resurrected bodies. 00:07:51.079 --> 00:07:52.560 So let's look at this this morning. 00:07:52.639 --> 00:07:53.500 I want to look at our text. 00:07:53.620 --> 00:07:56.279 I just want to ask five questions here this morning 00:07:56.279 --> 00:07:57.379 about the resurrection. 00:07:57.599 --> 00:07:59.339 This will be our outline if you're taking notes. 00:07:59.719 --> 00:08:01.899 Five questions about the resurrection. 00:08:02.099 --> 00:08:03.919 I'm sure you have way more than that, 00:08:03.959 --> 00:08:04.659 and so do I. 00:08:04.660 --> 00:08:06.040 But here's five. 00:08:06.240 --> 00:08:08.960 First, what does the Bible say about our hope? 00:08:10.000 --> 00:08:11.880 What does the Bible say about our hope? 00:08:11.980 --> 00:08:15.340 Does this really match up with what the Bible says? 00:08:15.400 --> 00:08:19.360 And if so, does our hope match up with what the Bible says? 00:08:19.440 --> 00:08:21.740 Well, I want to go to just a few other places 00:08:21.740 --> 00:08:23.680 outside of our passage here very quickly 00:08:23.680 --> 00:08:24.680 and show this to you. 00:08:24.740 --> 00:08:27.000 One place I think of is John chapter 11. 00:08:28.220 --> 00:08:31.320 The resurrection of Lazarus from the dead. 00:08:31.379 --> 00:08:32.240 You remember the story? 00:08:32.240 --> 00:08:35.139 The Lazarus has died. 00:08:35.340 --> 00:08:36.759 Jesus is not there. 00:08:36.860 --> 00:08:37.600 That's intentional. 00:08:38.000 --> 00:08:39.720 And by the time He does show up, 00:08:39.799 --> 00:08:41.620 Mary and Martha are there, and they're upset. 00:08:42.680 --> 00:08:43.580 You remember what they said? 00:08:43.659 --> 00:08:45.180 Lord, if you had been here, 00:08:45.639 --> 00:08:46.960 none of this would have happened. 00:08:48.139 --> 00:08:51.299 And they're feeling, they're encountering the grief 00:08:51.299 --> 00:08:53.879 and the weight of losing their brother. 00:08:54.100 --> 00:08:56.820 And how does Jesus comfort them? 00:08:56.980 --> 00:08:57.680 Do you remember what He said? 00:08:57.679 --> 00:09:02.319 If it were you and I, we might have said something like, 00:09:02.399 --> 00:09:05.039 well, Martha, Lazarus is in heaven. 00:09:06.519 --> 00:09:08.179 He believed in Jesus. 00:09:08.399 --> 00:09:10.339 He trusts the promises of God. 00:09:10.479 --> 00:09:12.659 Lazarus has died, and now he's in heaven. 00:09:12.719 --> 00:09:14.779 That would be the comfort that we would give them, right? 00:09:15.759 --> 00:09:17.639 And when I preach at a Christian funeral, 00:09:17.639 --> 00:09:19.679 often the comfort that we give is that 00:09:19.679 --> 00:09:23.539 this departed beloved friend is now with the Lord. 00:09:23.639 --> 00:09:25.539 But that's not what Jesus says. 00:09:25.539 --> 00:09:26.919 What did He say? 00:09:28.159 --> 00:09:31.639 Your brother will rise again. 00:09:33.199 --> 00:09:34.799 Now, of course, Martha didn't know that he meant 00:09:34.799 --> 00:09:37.639 in like five seconds he's about to rise again, right? 00:09:37.759 --> 00:09:40.919 But even so, her comfort in the face of death 00:09:40.919 --> 00:09:43.179 was not heaven, it was resurrection. 00:09:43.439 --> 00:09:45.659 Your brother will rise again. 00:09:45.980 --> 00:09:47.120 Philippians chapter 3. 00:09:48.719 --> 00:09:50.419 Paul says to the Philippians, 00:09:50.579 --> 00:09:52.899 our citizenship is in heaven. 00:09:53.899 --> 00:09:55.199 And if we were to finish the sentence, 00:09:55.200 --> 00:09:56.520 we might say something like, 00:09:56.580 --> 00:09:57.860 our citizenship is in heaven, 00:09:57.860 --> 00:10:00.440 and one day when we die, we get to go there. 00:10:01.160 --> 00:10:02.140 What does he say? 00:10:02.879 --> 00:10:04.780 Our citizenship is in heaven, 00:10:04.780 --> 00:10:07.620 and from it we await a Savior, 00:10:08.300 --> 00:10:09.820 the Lord Jesus Christ, 00:10:10.320 --> 00:10:13.560 who will transform our lowly body 00:10:13.560 --> 00:10:16.180 to be like His glorious body 00:10:16.180 --> 00:10:17.980 by the power that enables Him 00:10:17.980 --> 00:10:20.060 to subject all things to Himself. 00:10:20.059 --> 00:10:22.359 In other words, church, 00:10:22.439 --> 00:10:26.059 we're not ultimately waiting to go there 00:10:26.059 --> 00:10:27.379 without the body. 00:10:27.579 --> 00:10:29.319 Ultimately, we're waiting for Christ 00:10:29.319 --> 00:10:30.699 to come back here 00:10:30.699 --> 00:10:32.419 and transform everything, 00:10:32.559 --> 00:10:34.159 including our bodies. 00:10:34.279 --> 00:10:36.039 That's what we have to look forward to. 00:10:37.179 --> 00:10:38.479 But one more place, 00:10:38.599 --> 00:10:40.719 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. 00:10:40.839 --> 00:10:42.979 Again, we're dealing with death here 00:10:42.979 --> 00:10:44.259 in 1 Thessalonians. 00:10:44.439 --> 00:10:46.199 The Thessalonians are worried 00:10:46.199 --> 00:10:47.559 about their dead friends, 00:10:47.559 --> 00:10:49.619 their dead brothers and sisters in Christ. 00:10:49.759 --> 00:10:52.059 And so Paul says in chapter 4, verse 13, 00:10:52.539 --> 00:10:55.479 we don't want you to be uninformed, brothers, 00:10:56.159 --> 00:10:58.739 about those who are asleep, dead, 00:10:59.459 --> 00:11:01.619 that you may not grieve as others do 00:11:01.619 --> 00:11:03.619 who have no hope. 00:11:04.079 --> 00:11:05.239 So what's the hope, Paul? 00:11:06.299 --> 00:11:08.219 What's the hope that we have? 00:11:08.279 --> 00:11:09.679 Why should they not grieve? 00:11:09.739 --> 00:11:12.019 And again, if we were to answer that, 00:11:12.099 --> 00:11:13.299 we might say something like, 00:11:13.299 --> 00:11:16.279 well, we don't grieve because we have the hope of heaven. 00:11:17.479 --> 00:11:18.379 What does he say? 00:11:19.799 --> 00:11:23.500 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, 00:11:23.620 --> 00:11:25.279 even so, through Jesus, 00:11:25.539 --> 00:11:27.599 God will bring with him 00:11:27.599 --> 00:11:29.539 those who have fallen asleep. 00:11:30.419 --> 00:11:33.599 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven 00:11:33.599 --> 00:11:35.319 with a cry of command, 00:11:35.579 --> 00:11:37.279 with the voice of an archangel, 00:11:37.279 --> 00:11:39.659 with the sound of the trumpet of God, 00:11:39.939 --> 00:11:44.419 and the dead in Christ will rise first. 00:11:45.620 --> 00:11:48.539 He's coming back here. 00:11:49.419 --> 00:11:51.819 And the dead will be raised. 00:11:51.879 --> 00:11:52.480 Do you see it? 00:11:53.839 --> 00:11:54.939 In other words, believer, 00:11:55.100 --> 00:11:58.459 our hope is not just spiritual. 00:11:58.460 --> 00:12:03.920 It is also very, very physical and tangible. 00:12:04.320 --> 00:12:07.460 We will receive new resurrected bodies 00:12:07.460 --> 00:12:08.780 at the return of Christ. 00:12:08.900 --> 00:12:09.540 Praise God. 00:12:10.960 --> 00:12:12.240 And so then my question is, 00:12:12.240 --> 00:12:13.139 back to our passage, 00:12:13.500 --> 00:12:14.400 question number two, 00:12:14.540 --> 00:12:16.480 well, what then will it be like? 00:12:16.759 --> 00:12:18.460 This is the question we all have, isn't it? 00:12:19.259 --> 00:12:21.160 Tell us what this resurrected body 00:12:21.160 --> 00:12:22.460 is going to be like. 00:12:22.519 --> 00:12:23.940 And in fact, it looks like Paul, 00:12:24.200 --> 00:12:26.639 he anticipates that question in our passage, 00:12:26.639 --> 00:12:27.160 doesn't he? 00:12:27.159 --> 00:12:28.779 Look there to verse 35. 00:12:29.860 --> 00:12:30.240 He says, 00:12:30.299 --> 00:12:31.319 someone's going to ask, 00:12:32.120 --> 00:12:33.779 how are the dead raised? 00:12:34.679 --> 00:12:36.480 With what kind of body do they come? 00:12:36.539 --> 00:12:37.559 And how does he answer? 00:12:38.339 --> 00:12:39.819 You foolish person. 00:12:41.620 --> 00:12:43.059 Doesn't Paul just drive you crazy? 00:12:43.860 --> 00:12:45.279 You foolish person. 00:12:45.360 --> 00:12:47.000 It sounds a little bit harsh to me, doesn't it? 00:12:47.719 --> 00:12:50.539 I think what this response shows us 00:12:50.539 --> 00:12:53.259 is that Paul is expecting the Corinthians 00:12:53.259 --> 00:12:55.159 just to write this whole thing off 00:12:55.159 --> 00:12:56.259 completely as absurd. 00:12:57.159 --> 00:12:59.659 He knows that they're just so obsessed 00:12:59.659 --> 00:13:01.659 with being spiritual people 00:13:01.659 --> 00:13:04.000 that the whole idea of resurrecting the body 00:13:04.000 --> 00:13:05.860 is just ridiculous to them. 00:13:05.939 --> 00:13:07.899 I mean, how are the dead going to be raised? 00:13:08.000 --> 00:13:08.779 Paul, are you serious? 00:13:09.659 --> 00:13:11.279 What kind of body are they going to get? 00:13:11.319 --> 00:13:12.819 You actually believe this, Paul? 00:13:14.079 --> 00:13:14.860 And Paul says, 00:13:14.939 --> 00:13:16.000 yes, in fact, I do. 00:13:16.120 --> 00:13:18.879 In fact, you already have all around you, 00:13:18.919 --> 00:13:20.000 if you would pay attention, 00:13:20.439 --> 00:13:21.720 you already have examples 00:13:21.720 --> 00:13:23.360 of what I'm trying to talk about here. 00:13:23.360 --> 00:13:26.379 If you will just look around you 00:13:26.379 --> 00:13:27.600 at the world you live in, 00:13:27.740 --> 00:13:29.740 you have examples all around you 00:13:29.740 --> 00:13:30.580 of transformation. 00:13:32.159 --> 00:13:35.279 Think of the seeds that you sow into the ground. 00:13:36.320 --> 00:13:37.100 For the believer, 00:13:37.480 --> 00:13:39.600 death is like sowing seeds. 00:13:40.980 --> 00:13:42.560 Y'all know I'm not much of a gardener 00:13:42.560 --> 00:13:43.820 or a farmer. 00:13:43.980 --> 00:13:45.580 Amanda, my wife, likes to garden. 00:13:45.700 --> 00:13:47.759 I like to eat what comes out of the garden. 00:13:47.860 --> 00:13:49.639 That's about the extent of my involvement there. 00:13:49.639 --> 00:13:51.179 But I know this, 00:13:51.259 --> 00:13:51.860 the seeds, 00:13:51.939 --> 00:13:53.480 when you buy seeds at a store, 00:13:53.600 --> 00:13:55.620 they don't look like the final product, 00:13:55.699 --> 00:13:56.039 do they? 00:13:57.019 --> 00:13:58.220 In fact, you get a little packet 00:13:58.220 --> 00:13:59.899 and it has a picture on the packet 00:13:59.899 --> 00:14:01.220 for simple people like me 00:14:01.220 --> 00:14:02.360 so that we know 00:14:02.360 --> 00:14:03.980 what should come out of the ground 00:14:03.980 --> 00:14:05.600 if it's successful. 00:14:06.980 --> 00:14:09.500 The final product comes from the seed, 00:14:09.639 --> 00:14:11.399 but if you were to hold up a seed 00:14:11.399 --> 00:14:12.379 and the final product 00:14:12.379 --> 00:14:13.419 hand by hand, 00:14:13.500 --> 00:14:14.439 side by side together, 00:14:14.639 --> 00:14:15.840 you can hardly believe 00:14:15.840 --> 00:14:17.159 that this end product 00:14:17.159 --> 00:14:18.879 comes from this little seed. 00:14:19.639 --> 00:14:20.340 I mean, 00:14:20.379 --> 00:14:22.759 you hold up a sunflower seed 00:14:22.759 --> 00:14:24.439 next to a full-grown sunflower, 00:14:24.779 --> 00:14:25.899 you can hardly believe 00:14:25.899 --> 00:14:27.019 that this came from that thing. 00:14:28.620 --> 00:14:29.360 Paul says, 00:14:29.460 --> 00:14:30.179 so it is 00:14:30.179 --> 00:14:31.860 with our bodies. 00:14:33.319 --> 00:14:36.279 God has put into nature itself 00:14:36.279 --> 00:14:38.019 examples of life, 00:14:38.519 --> 00:14:38.919 death, 00:14:39.399 --> 00:14:40.039 resurrection, 00:14:40.460 --> 00:14:41.279 and transformation. 00:14:41.740 --> 00:14:42.720 So don't write it off. 00:14:42.799 --> 00:14:43.600 You see it every day. 00:14:43.679 --> 00:14:44.460 Not only that, 00:14:45.399 --> 00:14:46.639 he says you also see 00:14:46.639 --> 00:14:48.860 examples of distinction 00:14:48.860 --> 00:14:50.840 and different kinds of bodies 00:14:50.840 --> 00:14:51.620 all around you. 00:14:51.679 --> 00:14:52.899 You do have a point of reference 00:14:52.899 --> 00:14:53.519 for this. 00:14:54.159 --> 00:14:55.759 It's not as absurd as you think. 00:14:56.539 --> 00:14:57.620 Look at all around you. 00:14:57.779 --> 00:14:59.819 Not all flesh is the same. 00:15:01.000 --> 00:15:02.059 Birds have wings 00:15:02.059 --> 00:15:03.379 so they can fly in the air. 00:15:04.379 --> 00:15:07.019 Fish have fins and gills 00:15:07.019 --> 00:15:08.720 so that they can swim in the water. 00:15:08.799 --> 00:15:10.460 They are fit for the water. 00:15:10.460 --> 00:15:11.480 God knows 00:15:11.480 --> 00:15:12.700 how to give each part 00:15:12.700 --> 00:15:13.420 of his creation 00:15:13.420 --> 00:15:15.120 a body that they need 00:15:15.120 --> 00:15:16.200 for the realm 00:15:16.200 --> 00:15:17.639 that they live in. 00:15:18.660 --> 00:15:20.379 And you have an earthly body 00:15:20.379 --> 00:15:22.360 that's fit for your life 00:15:22.360 --> 00:15:23.080 here on earth. 00:15:23.180 --> 00:15:23.720 And yes, 00:15:23.780 --> 00:15:24.639 you will have 00:15:24.639 --> 00:15:26.000 a heavenly body 00:15:26.000 --> 00:15:26.680 that's fit 00:15:26.680 --> 00:15:28.019 for your life 00:15:28.019 --> 00:15:29.280 in eternity. 00:15:31.080 --> 00:15:32.060 So if that's true, 00:15:32.379 --> 00:15:32.620 Paul, 00:15:32.740 --> 00:15:33.460 then again, 00:15:33.540 --> 00:15:34.139 we need to ask, 00:15:34.240 --> 00:15:34.320 well, 00:15:34.600 --> 00:15:35.960 what in the world 00:15:35.960 --> 00:15:37.660 will it be like? 00:15:37.740 --> 00:15:38.300 And look there, 00:15:38.300 --> 00:15:39.519 starting in verse 42. 00:15:40.460 --> 00:15:41.360 Because here on, 00:15:41.420 --> 00:15:42.400 he begins to describe 00:15:42.400 --> 00:15:44.340 this new body to us. 00:15:44.400 --> 00:15:44.639 He says, 00:15:44.720 --> 00:15:45.820 your resurrected body, 00:15:45.900 --> 00:15:48.200 the body that believers in Christ 00:15:48.200 --> 00:15:49.660 have to look forward to, 00:15:49.940 --> 00:15:50.300 he says, 00:15:50.360 --> 00:15:51.700 your resurrected body 00:15:51.700 --> 00:15:54.019 will be imperishable. 00:15:55.340 --> 00:15:56.720 Look there at verse 42. 00:15:58.080 --> 00:16:00.440 What's sown is perishable, 00:16:00.540 --> 00:16:01.720 but what is raised 00:16:01.720 --> 00:16:03.720 is imperishable. 00:16:05.180 --> 00:16:05.379 Now, 00:16:05.400 --> 00:16:06.100 we all know that 00:16:06.100 --> 00:16:07.519 this present body 00:16:07.519 --> 00:16:08.879 is perishable. 00:16:08.980 --> 00:16:10.000 I don't have to tell you that. 00:16:10.940 --> 00:16:12.680 Our bodies age, 00:16:12.800 --> 00:16:14.180 they hurt, 00:16:14.900 --> 00:16:16.379 they bruise, 00:16:16.440 --> 00:16:17.019 they bleed, 00:16:17.139 --> 00:16:18.000 they get sick, 00:16:18.100 --> 00:16:19.080 they have runny noses 00:16:19.080 --> 00:16:20.040 and sore throats. 00:16:20.340 --> 00:16:21.580 They got to go to the doctor 00:16:21.580 --> 00:16:22.360 and eventually, 00:16:22.639 --> 00:16:24.280 for every single one of us, 00:16:24.360 --> 00:16:25.480 eventually the time comes 00:16:25.480 --> 00:16:27.360 when they simply cannot keep going 00:16:27.360 --> 00:16:28.320 and they perish. 00:16:29.800 --> 00:16:30.320 Paul says, 00:16:30.400 --> 00:16:31.780 I got good news for you. 00:16:32.960 --> 00:16:34.759 Our resurrected body 00:16:34.759 --> 00:16:37.300 is going to be imperishable. 00:16:37.299 --> 00:16:40.740 This body that we get to enjoy 00:16:40.740 --> 00:16:41.759 for the rest of eternity 00:16:41.759 --> 00:16:43.859 is not subject to pain 00:16:43.859 --> 00:16:44.539 or decay 00:16:44.539 --> 00:16:46.159 or deterioration. 00:16:46.299 --> 00:16:47.839 The mind doesn't fade. 00:16:47.959 --> 00:16:49.339 The body doesn't weaken. 00:16:50.199 --> 00:16:51.599 Achy knees and arthritis, 00:16:51.859 --> 00:16:52.579 bad backs, 00:16:52.699 --> 00:16:53.459 bad breath, 00:16:53.639 --> 00:16:54.399 carpal tunnel, 00:16:54.740 --> 00:16:55.139 cancer, 00:16:55.319 --> 00:16:56.159 all of it's gone. 00:16:56.519 --> 00:16:57.219 Praise God. 00:16:57.220 --> 00:16:57.279 God, 00:16:58.160 --> 00:16:59.980 if you're suffering 00:16:59.980 --> 00:17:01.180 physically, 00:17:01.399 --> 00:17:02.620 and most of us are 00:17:02.620 --> 00:17:03.360 in some way, 00:17:04.279 --> 00:17:05.299 if you are suffering 00:17:05.299 --> 00:17:05.980 physically, 00:17:06.140 --> 00:17:07.740 Paul has good news. 00:17:08.140 --> 00:17:08.539 Yes, 00:17:08.600 --> 00:17:09.539 you who are in the Lord 00:17:09.539 --> 00:17:10.500 get to go to heaven 00:17:10.500 --> 00:17:11.579 and be done with it all, 00:17:11.700 --> 00:17:12.480 but then 00:17:12.480 --> 00:17:14.700 you will be made new 00:17:14.700 --> 00:17:16.579 with a new body 00:17:16.579 --> 00:17:18.759 that will be totally alive 00:17:18.759 --> 00:17:19.700 for the first time. 00:17:19.700 --> 00:17:21.720 No pain, 00:17:21.940 --> 00:17:23.059 no suffering, 00:17:23.440 --> 00:17:25.480 no threat of death. 00:17:25.720 --> 00:17:26.340 D.A. Carson 00:17:26.340 --> 00:17:27.559 says, 00:17:27.640 --> 00:17:28.279 you're not suffering 00:17:28.279 --> 00:17:28.960 from anything 00:17:28.960 --> 00:17:29.980 that a good resurrection 00:17:29.980 --> 00:17:30.759 can't fix. 00:17:32.240 --> 00:17:32.720 Amen. 00:17:34.279 --> 00:17:34.900 Our new bodies 00:17:34.900 --> 00:17:36.539 will be imperishable. 00:17:36.660 --> 00:17:37.319 Not only this, 00:17:37.400 --> 00:17:37.880 Paul says, 00:17:37.880 --> 00:17:39.160 your resurrected body 00:17:39.160 --> 00:17:40.940 will be glorious. 00:17:41.700 --> 00:17:42.279 Verse 43, 00:17:43.480 --> 00:17:45.720 it's sown in dishonor, 00:17:45.819 --> 00:17:48.519 but it's raised in glory. 00:17:49.700 --> 00:17:51.100 When we rise, 00:17:51.259 --> 00:17:52.539 our new bodies 00:17:52.539 --> 00:17:53.980 will be perfect. 00:17:54.240 --> 00:17:54.779 Are you in search 00:17:54.779 --> 00:17:55.620 of the perfect body? 00:17:56.960 --> 00:17:58.259 You want a plan 00:17:58.259 --> 00:17:59.319 to get the perfect body? 00:18:00.120 --> 00:18:01.440 Put your faith in Christ 00:18:01.440 --> 00:18:02.460 and hope in eternity. 00:18:03.680 --> 00:18:04.500 Our new bodies, 00:18:04.559 --> 00:18:04.840 he says, 00:18:04.900 --> 00:18:05.960 will be glorious. 00:18:06.100 --> 00:18:07.660 We'll be finally free 00:18:07.660 --> 00:18:08.519 from the presence 00:18:08.519 --> 00:18:09.640 and the power 00:18:09.640 --> 00:18:10.680 and the penalty 00:18:10.680 --> 00:18:12.240 of sin in the flesh. 00:18:12.740 --> 00:18:13.340 We will be 00:18:13.340 --> 00:18:15.200 as the bride of Christ 00:18:15.200 --> 00:18:16.539 presented to him 00:18:16.539 --> 00:18:18.259 without blemish. 00:18:18.980 --> 00:18:19.580 Spotless, 00:18:19.579 --> 00:18:20.139 and pure 00:18:20.139 --> 00:18:21.240 and glorious 00:18:21.240 --> 00:18:22.019 and radiant. 00:18:22.199 --> 00:18:23.279 We will be holy 00:18:23.279 --> 00:18:24.659 as he is holy 00:18:24.659 --> 00:18:25.779 at last. 00:18:25.919 --> 00:18:26.599 Praise God. 00:18:28.240 --> 00:18:28.679 In fact, 00:18:28.720 --> 00:18:29.099 he says, 00:18:29.299 --> 00:18:30.000 this new body 00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:31.839 will be powerful. 00:18:32.000 --> 00:18:32.659 Verse 43, 00:18:33.879 --> 00:18:35.319 it's sown in weakness 00:18:35.319 --> 00:18:38.119 and it's raised up 00:18:38.119 --> 00:18:39.619 in power. 00:18:39.819 --> 00:18:41.059 It will be raised 00:18:41.059 --> 00:18:43.359 in spiritual power. 00:18:44.759 --> 00:18:46.339 You think of the garden 00:18:46.339 --> 00:18:47.939 as Christ went to pray 00:18:47.940 --> 00:18:49.059 before his crucifixion? 00:18:49.120 --> 00:18:49.539 What did he say 00:18:49.539 --> 00:18:50.140 to the disciples? 00:18:50.259 --> 00:18:50.519 You remember? 00:18:51.519 --> 00:18:52.840 He tells his disciples, 00:18:53.220 --> 00:18:54.059 stay awake 00:18:54.059 --> 00:18:54.860 and pray 00:18:54.860 --> 00:18:56.059 that you might not 00:18:56.059 --> 00:18:57.039 enter into temptation. 00:18:57.279 --> 00:18:57.600 Why? 00:18:57.940 --> 00:18:58.600 Because he says, 00:18:58.720 --> 00:19:00.000 the spirit indeed 00:19:00.000 --> 00:19:00.660 is willing, 00:19:00.880 --> 00:19:01.320 but what? 00:19:01.400 --> 00:19:01.700 Help me. 00:19:03.000 --> 00:19:04.740 That flesh is weak. 00:19:06.100 --> 00:19:07.740 All of us experience this. 00:19:09.100 --> 00:19:10.080 Paul agrees 00:19:10.080 --> 00:19:11.220 in Romans chapter 7. 00:19:11.340 --> 00:19:11.720 Paul says, 00:19:11.720 --> 00:19:13.120 I know that nothing good 00:19:13.120 --> 00:19:14.140 dwells in me 00:19:14.140 --> 00:19:15.880 that is in my flesh, 00:19:15.880 --> 00:19:17.480 for I have the desire 00:19:17.480 --> 00:19:18.339 to do what's right, 00:19:18.400 --> 00:19:19.500 but I don't have the ability 00:19:19.500 --> 00:19:20.539 to carry it out. 00:19:21.440 --> 00:19:22.460 That's the tension 00:19:22.460 --> 00:19:24.579 that every genuine believer 00:19:24.579 --> 00:19:25.940 in Christ feels 00:19:25.940 --> 00:19:27.779 in their battle with sin 00:19:27.779 --> 00:19:28.579 deep down 00:19:28.579 --> 00:19:29.660 by the grace of God. 00:19:29.980 --> 00:19:31.420 We desire to live 00:19:31.420 --> 00:19:32.079 for the Lord, 00:19:32.200 --> 00:19:33.059 but in our flesh 00:19:33.059 --> 00:19:34.299 we're so weak, 00:19:35.380 --> 00:19:37.839 but not in the resurrection. 00:19:37.839 --> 00:19:40.159 In the resurrection 00:19:40.159 --> 00:19:42.559 we will be raised up 00:19:42.559 --> 00:19:44.199 in power. 00:19:44.379 --> 00:19:44.679 Why? 00:19:45.079 --> 00:19:46.000 Because ultimately 00:19:46.000 --> 00:19:46.619 Paul says, 00:19:46.779 --> 00:19:47.759 the natural body 00:19:47.759 --> 00:19:48.899 will be put to death 00:19:48.899 --> 00:19:50.279 and we will be raised up 00:19:50.279 --> 00:19:51.839 a spiritual body. 00:19:52.759 --> 00:19:53.500 Verse 44. 00:19:54.740 --> 00:19:56.599 It is sown a natural body. 00:19:57.119 --> 00:20:01.000 It is raised a spiritual body. 00:20:01.139 --> 00:20:02.439 In other words, church, 00:20:03.379 --> 00:20:05.439 our hope is that 00:20:05.439 --> 00:20:06.879 because we are united 00:20:06.880 --> 00:20:09.000 to Jesus Christ by faith, 00:20:09.140 --> 00:20:10.340 in our resurrection 00:20:10.340 --> 00:20:13.360 we will be made like Jesus. 00:20:15.220 --> 00:20:16.460 Made like Him. 00:20:16.980 --> 00:20:18.360 Like Him we rise. 00:20:18.460 --> 00:20:19.080 We just sang. 00:20:20.540 --> 00:20:21.840 That's an incredible hope, 00:20:21.920 --> 00:20:22.240 isn't it? 00:20:23.680 --> 00:20:25.840 Our hope is not just 00:20:25.840 --> 00:20:26.760 that we can die 00:20:26.760 --> 00:20:28.260 and escape all the bad stuff 00:20:28.260 --> 00:20:29.000 in this life. 00:20:29.120 --> 00:20:30.240 Anybody can hope in that. 00:20:30.320 --> 00:20:31.380 In fact, non-believers 00:20:31.380 --> 00:20:32.480 all over the planet 00:20:32.480 --> 00:20:33.920 have hope like that. 00:20:33.980 --> 00:20:34.820 That's why they rob 00:20:34.820 --> 00:20:35.660 from our comfort 00:20:35.660 --> 00:20:36.420 when death comes 00:20:36.420 --> 00:20:37.400 at their door. 00:20:38.840 --> 00:20:39.920 When death comes 00:20:39.920 --> 00:20:40.880 around a non-believer 00:20:40.880 --> 00:20:42.279 they say things like, 00:20:42.360 --> 00:20:43.540 well, they're in a better place. 00:20:44.600 --> 00:20:46.259 They're resting in peace. 00:20:47.220 --> 00:20:48.660 Anybody can hope in that. 00:20:48.860 --> 00:20:50.060 That's not the extent 00:20:50.060 --> 00:20:50.759 of our hope. 00:20:51.759 --> 00:20:53.400 Our hope is that 00:20:53.400 --> 00:20:56.200 we will be with Christ. 00:20:56.340 --> 00:20:58.080 Not only that we'll be with Him, 00:20:58.140 --> 00:20:59.360 but that we will be made 00:20:59.360 --> 00:21:01.279 like Christ. 00:21:01.279 --> 00:21:03.980 Look there to verse 47. 00:21:05.599 --> 00:21:06.079 It says, 00:21:06.180 --> 00:21:07.619 The first man, Adam, 00:21:07.920 --> 00:21:09.440 was from the earth, 00:21:09.500 --> 00:21:10.339 a man of dust. 00:21:10.460 --> 00:21:11.359 The second man, 00:21:11.700 --> 00:21:12.700 the second Adam, 00:21:12.799 --> 00:21:13.399 that's Christ, 00:21:13.619 --> 00:21:14.899 is from heaven. 00:21:15.859 --> 00:21:17.460 As was the man of dust, 00:21:17.559 --> 00:21:18.539 so also are those 00:21:18.539 --> 00:21:19.420 who are of the dust. 00:21:19.539 --> 00:21:21.180 And as is the man of heaven, 00:21:21.299 --> 00:21:22.460 so also are those 00:21:22.460 --> 00:21:23.740 who are of heaven. 00:21:23.879 --> 00:21:24.519 Here's the key. 00:21:25.399 --> 00:21:26.480 Just as we have borne 00:21:26.480 --> 00:21:28.139 the image of the man of dust, 00:21:28.140 --> 00:21:30.759 so also we shall bear 00:21:30.759 --> 00:21:33.220 the image of the man of heaven. 00:21:34.500 --> 00:21:35.940 I know we just had Easter 00:21:35.940 --> 00:21:37.140 last Sunday, 00:21:38.040 --> 00:21:38.800 but we need to talk 00:21:38.800 --> 00:21:39.360 about Christmas 00:21:39.360 --> 00:21:42.060 and the glory, 00:21:42.220 --> 00:21:43.740 the miracle of the incarnation 00:21:43.740 --> 00:21:44.980 of Jesus. 00:21:45.340 --> 00:21:47.520 The wonder of what happened there 00:21:47.520 --> 00:21:48.520 at the birth of Christ 00:21:48.520 --> 00:21:51.120 is that for the first time 00:21:51.120 --> 00:21:52.540 in all eternity, 00:21:53.160 --> 00:21:54.220 the Son of God 00:21:54.220 --> 00:21:56.740 took on human flesh. 00:21:56.740 --> 00:22:00.339 The Word became flesh 00:22:00.339 --> 00:22:02.180 and dwelt among us. 00:22:02.279 --> 00:22:04.120 We are made in the image of God. 00:22:04.480 --> 00:22:05.819 Paul says in Colossians 00:22:05.819 --> 00:22:08.039 that He is the very image 00:22:08.039 --> 00:22:09.120 of the invisible God. 00:22:10.460 --> 00:22:11.880 He took on flesh. 00:22:12.140 --> 00:22:12.900 Why did He do it? 00:22:13.420 --> 00:22:16.620 In order to redeem His people. 00:22:18.000 --> 00:22:20.319 He came to be as we are. 00:22:20.440 --> 00:22:21.779 He came to live in the place 00:22:21.779 --> 00:22:22.579 of His people, 00:22:23.019 --> 00:22:24.660 die in the place of His people, 00:22:24.660 --> 00:22:26.740 and then rise up from the grave 00:22:26.740 --> 00:22:28.860 bodily with a new, 00:22:29.060 --> 00:22:30.120 imperishable, 00:22:30.440 --> 00:22:31.000 powerful, 00:22:31.500 --> 00:22:32.100 glorious, 00:22:32.480 --> 00:22:33.420 spiritual body 00:22:33.420 --> 00:22:36.259 so that we might be made like Him. 00:22:37.200 --> 00:22:39.000 He came to be as we are 00:22:39.000 --> 00:22:41.960 so that we might go to be as He is. 00:22:43.140 --> 00:22:44.060 Made like Him, 00:22:44.140 --> 00:22:44.640 like Him, 00:22:45.040 --> 00:22:45.740 we rise. 00:22:45.860 --> 00:22:46.620 Robert Candlish, 00:22:46.680 --> 00:22:47.560 he says it like this. 00:22:48.320 --> 00:22:48.600 He says, 00:22:48.599 --> 00:22:50.339 He is risen for them. 00:22:50.919 --> 00:22:52.980 Then they rise in Him. 00:22:53.779 --> 00:22:55.980 They rise because He has risen. 00:22:56.480 --> 00:22:58.480 They rise as He is risen. 00:22:59.059 --> 00:23:00.839 They rise to be as He is 00:23:00.839 --> 00:23:03.139 and where He is now that He is risen. 00:23:03.679 --> 00:23:05.480 They rise as His body, 00:23:05.839 --> 00:23:07.099 the fullness of Him 00:23:07.099 --> 00:23:09.599 that filleth all in all. 00:23:09.599 --> 00:23:12.439 Our hope 00:23:12.439 --> 00:23:16.379 is not just that we get to be with Him, 00:23:16.459 --> 00:23:18.759 but that we get to be like Him. 00:23:20.139 --> 00:23:21.919 We who trust in Christ by faith 00:23:21.919 --> 00:23:24.519 will be raised up from the dead, 00:23:24.740 --> 00:23:25.179 physically, 00:23:25.779 --> 00:23:26.579 in new, 00:23:26.980 --> 00:23:28.679 glorified bodies. 00:23:28.819 --> 00:23:30.459 That's our hope, church. 00:23:31.779 --> 00:23:32.759 So third question, 00:23:34.019 --> 00:23:35.559 why must it happen? 00:23:36.819 --> 00:23:37.639 Never think about that. 00:23:37.640 --> 00:23:40.480 Why is this whole thing even necessary? 00:23:40.600 --> 00:23:42.900 Why do we need that sort of transformation? 00:23:44.040 --> 00:23:45.060 Look there to verse 50. 00:23:45.180 --> 00:23:46.820 Verse 50 tells us, 00:23:47.640 --> 00:23:48.020 Paul says, 00:23:48.080 --> 00:23:49.100 I tell you this, brothers, 00:23:49.880 --> 00:23:53.500 flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, 00:23:54.400 --> 00:23:58.280 nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 00:23:58.360 --> 00:23:58.920 In other words, 00:23:58.980 --> 00:24:01.759 we are not currently in our present state 00:24:01.759 --> 00:24:03.120 fit for eternity. 00:24:03.320 --> 00:24:04.340 Something's got to change. 00:24:04.960 --> 00:24:07.100 The kingdom of God itself 00:24:07.099 --> 00:24:08.939 is imperishable 00:24:08.939 --> 00:24:10.219 and glorious 00:24:10.219 --> 00:24:11.939 and full of power 00:24:11.939 --> 00:24:13.099 and spiritual. 00:24:13.599 --> 00:24:15.959 And for it to be filled with citizens, 00:24:16.699 --> 00:24:18.139 those who are made to enjoy it 00:24:18.139 --> 00:24:19.059 for the rest of eternity, 00:24:19.279 --> 00:24:20.379 well, then they too 00:24:20.379 --> 00:24:22.679 must be made imperishable, 00:24:23.319 --> 00:24:23.839 glorious, 00:24:24.480 --> 00:24:25.419 full of power, 00:24:25.559 --> 00:24:26.519 and spiritual. 00:24:26.740 --> 00:24:28.039 This is the key issue, isn't it? 00:24:28.819 --> 00:24:30.299 Our flesh and blood, 00:24:30.359 --> 00:24:32.319 as it currently is right now, 00:24:32.319 --> 00:24:35.179 cannot inherit the kingdom of God. 00:24:35.279 --> 00:24:37.419 We must be transformed. 00:24:38.819 --> 00:24:40.000 Our capacity 00:24:40.000 --> 00:24:42.079 and our capability 00:24:42.079 --> 00:24:43.639 is far too limited 00:24:43.639 --> 00:24:45.299 in our current state 00:24:45.299 --> 00:24:47.399 to enjoy all that God has in store 00:24:47.399 --> 00:24:48.339 for us who believe. 00:24:50.619 --> 00:24:51.599 Yeah, every now and then, 00:24:51.819 --> 00:24:53.919 we have a meal around here. 00:24:54.299 --> 00:24:55.519 It's about time for another one. 00:24:55.519 --> 00:24:58.180 A potluck 00:24:58.180 --> 00:24:59.660 or a Thanksgiving feast 00:24:59.660 --> 00:25:01.720 and there's never once 00:25:01.720 --> 00:25:02.839 been a shortage of food, 00:25:03.119 --> 00:25:03.299 right? 00:25:03.319 --> 00:25:04.400 Not in my time, at least. 00:25:04.960 --> 00:25:06.059 Every time we go, 00:25:06.200 --> 00:25:07.180 there are meats 00:25:07.180 --> 00:25:07.879 and veggies 00:25:07.879 --> 00:25:09.240 and casseroles 00:25:09.240 --> 00:25:10.019 and pies 00:25:10.019 --> 00:25:10.519 and cakes. 00:25:10.720 --> 00:25:11.480 There's more food 00:25:11.480 --> 00:25:12.299 than we could possibly 00:25:12.299 --> 00:25:14.200 begin to enjoy. 00:25:14.299 --> 00:25:15.240 And then we got that whole table 00:25:15.240 --> 00:25:15.960 of desserts. 00:25:16.200 --> 00:25:17.039 It's all there. 00:25:17.859 --> 00:25:19.639 Now, I will never understand it. 00:25:20.059 --> 00:25:21.059 Every time we do it, 00:25:21.240 --> 00:25:22.119 I stand up right here 00:25:22.119 --> 00:25:22.579 and I say, 00:25:22.879 --> 00:25:24.420 if you don't have lunch plans already, 00:25:24.420 --> 00:25:25.300 come and join us. 00:25:26.000 --> 00:25:27.039 We want you to come. 00:25:27.180 --> 00:25:28.519 There's a feast back there 00:25:28.519 --> 00:25:29.180 for you to enjoy. 00:25:29.300 --> 00:25:31.240 There's a seat at a table for you. 00:25:31.320 --> 00:25:32.500 Come and enjoy it. 00:25:32.580 --> 00:25:33.640 And every time, 00:25:33.880 --> 00:25:34.539 there are people 00:25:34.539 --> 00:25:36.019 who leave hungry 00:25:36.019 --> 00:25:36.580 without eating. 00:25:38.039 --> 00:25:38.860 I stay. 00:25:39.940 --> 00:25:40.160 All right? 00:25:40.860 --> 00:25:41.920 And every time, 00:25:41.980 --> 00:25:42.660 as I stay, 00:25:42.759 --> 00:25:44.240 I run into the same two problems. 00:25:44.380 --> 00:25:44.640 For one, 00:25:44.700 --> 00:25:46.039 my plate is always too small. 00:25:47.539 --> 00:25:48.560 Miss Ann breaks out 00:25:48.560 --> 00:25:49.300 the heavy plates. 00:25:49.400 --> 00:25:50.680 We can't mess with the flimsy ones 00:25:50.680 --> 00:25:51.880 for Thanksgiving meal. 00:25:51.980 --> 00:25:53.300 We get the heavy plates out. 00:25:53.299 --> 00:25:55.180 We know we got to hold some weight. 00:25:55.879 --> 00:25:57.779 But even so, 00:25:57.980 --> 00:25:58.819 try as I may, 00:25:59.599 --> 00:26:00.539 even with a big plate, 00:26:00.639 --> 00:26:03.039 my appetite can't handle all of it. 00:26:03.879 --> 00:26:04.559 I simply, 00:26:04.680 --> 00:26:05.879 as much as I might want to, 00:26:05.940 --> 00:26:07.019 I cannot try. 00:26:07.119 --> 00:26:08.659 I can't enjoy all of the feasts 00:26:08.659 --> 00:26:09.680 that's laid out before me. 00:26:09.740 --> 00:26:11.799 My capacity is too small. 00:26:13.299 --> 00:26:13.740 Well, friend, 00:26:13.839 --> 00:26:14.659 in the gospel, 00:26:15.980 --> 00:26:18.200 we are called, 00:26:18.599 --> 00:26:19.200 invited, 00:26:19.200 --> 00:26:19.299 invited, 00:26:19.759 --> 00:26:21.340 to come and to feast 00:26:21.340 --> 00:26:22.759 on the goodness of God. 00:26:22.880 --> 00:26:23.920 That's what I stand up 00:26:23.920 --> 00:26:25.500 and do every single week. 00:26:25.559 --> 00:26:25.819 I say, 00:26:25.940 --> 00:26:26.180 come, 00:26:26.299 --> 00:26:27.380 repent of your sins. 00:26:27.539 --> 00:26:28.900 And by faith in Christ, 00:26:28.960 --> 00:26:29.880 you get to enjoy 00:26:29.880 --> 00:26:31.100 all that God 00:26:31.100 --> 00:26:32.039 has to offer 00:26:32.039 --> 00:26:33.620 now and into eternity. 00:26:33.740 --> 00:26:34.640 I make that invitation 00:26:34.640 --> 00:26:35.740 every week. 00:26:35.980 --> 00:26:36.880 And every week, 00:26:36.940 --> 00:26:38.240 there's some who walk away hungry. 00:26:40.039 --> 00:26:40.880 But for those who 00:26:40.880 --> 00:26:43.299 have come to faith in Him 00:26:43.299 --> 00:26:44.500 by the grace of God, 00:26:44.500 --> 00:26:45.960 what happens in us 00:26:45.960 --> 00:26:46.980 is that we've been given 00:26:46.980 --> 00:26:49.059 a desire for the Lord. 00:26:49.180 --> 00:26:50.640 It's a hunger for Him. 00:26:51.160 --> 00:26:51.299 Now, 00:26:51.339 --> 00:26:52.339 that didn't come from us. 00:26:52.420 --> 00:26:53.140 That came from Him. 00:26:53.220 --> 00:26:55.400 And it's evidence of new life 00:26:55.400 --> 00:26:56.900 that you've been born again. 00:26:57.720 --> 00:26:58.960 We desire Him 00:26:58.960 --> 00:27:00.339 and we love Him 00:27:00.339 --> 00:27:02.440 and we lose our appetite for sin. 00:27:02.519 --> 00:27:04.220 We gain an appetite for Christ. 00:27:05.160 --> 00:27:07.119 But in this present life, 00:27:07.240 --> 00:27:10.380 we simply don't have the capacity 00:27:10.380 --> 00:27:14.099 to enjoy all that He has in store for us. 00:27:15.400 --> 00:27:16.619 The feast is there, 00:27:16.700 --> 00:27:18.140 but our plates are too small. 00:27:19.539 --> 00:27:22.200 The desire in a believer is there. 00:27:22.359 --> 00:27:24.160 Our appetite is limited. 00:27:25.640 --> 00:27:26.700 One prayer that we all 00:27:26.700 --> 00:27:28.680 ought to pray regularly is, 00:27:29.019 --> 00:27:30.420 Lord, would You increase 00:27:30.420 --> 00:27:32.160 my desire for You? 00:27:33.319 --> 00:27:34.420 Lord, would You increase 00:27:34.420 --> 00:27:36.380 my appetite for You? 00:27:37.220 --> 00:27:38.400 Lord, would You increase 00:27:38.400 --> 00:27:41.400 my capacity to enjoy You? 00:27:41.819 --> 00:27:43.019 We pray that now. 00:27:43.019 --> 00:27:44.740 But when we are resurrected, 00:27:45.000 --> 00:27:45.400 guess what? 00:27:46.220 --> 00:27:47.660 We won't have to pray 00:27:47.660 --> 00:27:48.700 that prayer anymore. 00:27:50.160 --> 00:27:50.720 Why? 00:27:51.579 --> 00:27:53.440 Because we will be made 00:27:53.440 --> 00:27:56.299 capable of enjoying God 00:27:56.299 --> 00:27:57.799 in His eternal kingdom 00:27:57.799 --> 00:27:59.920 for the rest of eternity. 00:28:00.119 --> 00:28:01.859 That's what awaits us in Christ. 00:28:04.079 --> 00:28:06.180 The more you spend time 00:28:06.180 --> 00:28:07.039 thinking on that 00:28:07.039 --> 00:28:08.680 and meditating on it 00:28:08.680 --> 00:28:09.740 and putting your hope in it, 00:28:09.740 --> 00:28:11.400 the more you desire it 00:28:11.400 --> 00:28:12.220 and the more you ask, 00:28:12.319 --> 00:28:14.500 well, when will this happen? 00:28:15.799 --> 00:28:17.059 When will this come? 00:28:17.059 --> 00:28:18.000 When can I come 00:28:18.000 --> 00:28:19.779 and enjoy God forever 00:28:19.779 --> 00:28:20.539 in the new heavens 00:28:20.539 --> 00:28:21.220 and the new earth? 00:28:21.339 --> 00:28:23.160 When will I eat and drink 00:28:23.160 --> 00:28:24.200 with Christ Himself 00:28:24.200 --> 00:28:25.279 in the kingdom of God? 00:28:25.339 --> 00:28:26.460 And that's our fourth question. 00:28:27.000 --> 00:28:28.220 When will it happen? 00:28:29.259 --> 00:28:30.960 Look there to verse 51 with me. 00:28:32.620 --> 00:28:33.240 Paul says, 00:28:33.299 --> 00:28:34.799 Behold, I tell you a mystery. 00:28:34.799 --> 00:28:36.259 We shall not all sleep, 00:28:36.899 --> 00:28:38.700 but we shall all be changed 00:28:38.700 --> 00:28:39.460 in a moment, 00:28:40.059 --> 00:28:41.399 in the twinkling of an eye, 00:28:41.779 --> 00:28:43.379 at the last trumpet. 00:28:44.299 --> 00:28:45.659 For the trumpet will sound 00:28:45.659 --> 00:28:46.659 and the dead in Christ 00:28:46.659 --> 00:28:47.799 will be raised imperishable 00:28:48.399 --> 00:28:50.579 and we shall be changed. 00:28:51.240 --> 00:28:52.659 For this perishable body 00:28:52.659 --> 00:28:54.440 must put on the imperishable. 00:28:55.259 --> 00:28:56.159 And this mortal body 00:28:56.159 --> 00:28:57.839 must put on immortality. 00:28:58.339 --> 00:28:59.460 When the perishable 00:28:59.460 --> 00:29:00.940 puts on the imperishable 00:29:00.940 --> 00:29:03.240 and the mortal puts on immortality, 00:29:03.240 --> 00:29:05.640 then shall come to pass the saying. 00:29:05.900 --> 00:29:07.420 Then shall come to pass 00:29:07.420 --> 00:29:09.180 the saying that is written, 00:29:09.539 --> 00:29:11.660 Death is swallowed up in victory. 00:29:12.259 --> 00:29:14.039 O death, where is your victory? 00:29:14.599 --> 00:29:16.400 O death, where is your sting? 00:29:17.039 --> 00:29:18.859 The sting of death is sin 00:29:18.859 --> 00:29:20.779 and the power of sin is the law. 00:29:21.099 --> 00:29:22.839 But thanks be to God 00:29:22.839 --> 00:29:24.279 who gives us the victory 00:29:24.279 --> 00:29:26.640 through our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:29:27.799 --> 00:29:30.099 Now Paul is quoting here 00:29:30.099 --> 00:29:31.339 from the book of Isaiah, 00:29:31.339 --> 00:29:33.279 chapter 25. 00:29:34.319 --> 00:29:35.699 I'll read the passage to you. 00:29:35.779 --> 00:29:36.059 He says, 00:29:36.279 --> 00:29:37.039 On this mountain, 00:29:37.179 --> 00:29:38.059 the Lord of hosts 00:29:38.059 --> 00:29:39.339 will make for all peoples 00:29:39.339 --> 00:29:41.119 a feast of rich food, 00:29:41.779 --> 00:29:44.299 a feast of well-aged wine, 00:29:44.779 --> 00:29:45.759 of rich food, 00:29:45.819 --> 00:29:47.139 full of marrow, 00:29:47.419 --> 00:29:48.759 of aged wine, 00:29:48.879 --> 00:29:49.819 well-refined. 00:29:49.819 --> 00:29:52.059 And He will swallow up 00:29:52.059 --> 00:29:52.740 on this mountain 00:29:52.740 --> 00:29:54.099 the covering that is cast 00:29:54.099 --> 00:29:55.139 over all peoples, 00:29:55.859 --> 00:29:57.059 the veil that is spread 00:29:57.059 --> 00:29:58.079 over all nations. 00:29:58.579 --> 00:30:01.779 He will swallow up death forever. 00:30:02.579 --> 00:30:03.539 And the Lord God 00:30:03.539 --> 00:30:05.179 will wipe away tears 00:30:05.179 --> 00:30:06.200 from all faces. 00:30:06.759 --> 00:30:08.240 And the reproach of His people 00:30:08.240 --> 00:30:09.039 He will take away 00:30:09.039 --> 00:30:10.259 from all the earth, 00:30:10.319 --> 00:30:11.559 for the Lord has spoken. 00:30:12.480 --> 00:30:13.679 It will be said on that day, 00:30:13.759 --> 00:30:15.919 Behold, this is our God. 00:30:16.539 --> 00:30:17.980 We have waited for Him 00:30:17.980 --> 00:30:19.039 that He might save us. 00:30:19.240 --> 00:30:20.360 This is the Lord. 00:30:20.539 --> 00:30:21.799 We have waited for Him. 00:30:22.059 --> 00:30:23.059 Let us be glad 00:30:23.059 --> 00:30:23.960 and rejoice 00:30:23.960 --> 00:30:25.220 in His salvation. 00:30:27.740 --> 00:30:28.860 And believers have 00:30:28.860 --> 00:30:30.559 hoped in this 00:30:30.559 --> 00:30:31.920 for hundreds of years. 00:30:32.000 --> 00:30:32.920 This is the days of Isaiah. 00:30:33.099 --> 00:30:33.940 When will it happen? 00:30:34.900 --> 00:30:35.660 When will death 00:30:35.660 --> 00:30:36.539 be swallowed up? 00:30:36.640 --> 00:30:37.819 When will the Lord 00:30:37.819 --> 00:30:39.000 wipe away every tear? 00:30:39.259 --> 00:30:39.799 When will we get 00:30:39.799 --> 00:30:41.079 to enjoy this feast? 00:30:41.200 --> 00:30:42.120 When will we be resurrected? 00:30:42.620 --> 00:30:43.900 When will all things 00:30:43.900 --> 00:30:44.819 be made new? 00:30:44.819 --> 00:30:47.079 At the return 00:30:47.079 --> 00:30:49.480 of the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:30:51.159 --> 00:30:52.559 That's our hope, church. 00:30:54.259 --> 00:30:56.279 Revelation picks up on this. 00:30:56.359 --> 00:30:58.399 John says in Revelation chapter 21, 00:30:59.039 --> 00:31:00.779 I saw a new heaven 00:31:00.779 --> 00:31:02.619 and a new earth. 00:31:03.159 --> 00:31:04.379 For the first heaven 00:31:04.379 --> 00:31:05.139 and the first earth 00:31:05.139 --> 00:31:06.079 had passed away 00:31:06.079 --> 00:31:07.539 and the sea was no more. 00:31:08.439 --> 00:31:09.980 And I saw the holy city, 00:31:10.079 --> 00:31:10.759 New Jerusalem, 00:31:10.980 --> 00:31:12.659 coming down out of heaven 00:31:12.660 --> 00:31:13.680 from God, 00:31:14.000 --> 00:31:15.200 prepared as a bride 00:31:15.200 --> 00:31:16.500 adorned for her husband. 00:31:17.540 --> 00:31:18.660 And I heard a loud voice 00:31:18.660 --> 00:31:19.640 from the throne saying, 00:31:19.759 --> 00:31:20.279 Behold, 00:31:20.519 --> 00:31:22.160 the dwelling place of God 00:31:22.160 --> 00:31:23.220 is with man. 00:31:23.779 --> 00:31:24.920 He will dwell with them 00:31:24.920 --> 00:31:26.240 and they will be His people. 00:31:27.000 --> 00:31:28.360 God Himself will be with them 00:31:28.360 --> 00:31:29.080 as their God. 00:31:29.820 --> 00:31:30.680 He will wipe away 00:31:30.680 --> 00:31:32.060 every tear from their eyes 00:31:32.060 --> 00:31:33.840 and death shall be no more. 00:31:34.259 --> 00:31:35.480 Neither shall there be mourning 00:31:35.480 --> 00:31:36.540 nor crying 00:31:36.540 --> 00:31:37.820 nor pain anymore 00:31:37.820 --> 00:31:39.060 for the former things 00:31:39.060 --> 00:31:40.240 have passed away. 00:31:40.420 --> 00:31:41.420 And He who was seated 00:31:41.420 --> 00:31:42.279 on the throne said, 00:31:42.360 --> 00:31:42.900 Behold, 00:31:43.680 --> 00:31:46.740 I am making all things new. 00:31:49.240 --> 00:31:49.720 Church, 00:31:49.800 --> 00:31:51.539 the realization of our hope, 00:31:52.680 --> 00:31:54.500 the end of death, 00:31:55.759 --> 00:31:57.360 the end of suffering, 00:31:57.580 --> 00:31:59.500 the renewal of all things, 00:31:59.600 --> 00:32:01.100 the full enjoyment 00:32:01.100 --> 00:32:02.539 of the presence of the Lord 00:32:02.539 --> 00:32:04.340 in His eternal kingdom 00:32:04.340 --> 00:32:06.400 will come at the return 00:32:06.400 --> 00:32:08.680 of the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:32:08.680 --> 00:32:08.740 Christ, 00:32:09.120 --> 00:32:11.220 our hope 00:32:11.220 --> 00:32:13.299 is not simply 00:32:13.299 --> 00:32:14.200 that we would escape 00:32:14.200 --> 00:32:15.039 from this world 00:32:15.039 --> 00:32:16.440 and get away from all of it, 00:32:16.620 --> 00:32:17.759 but that Jesus Christ 00:32:17.759 --> 00:32:19.140 would come and finish 00:32:19.140 --> 00:32:20.160 what He started. 00:32:21.440 --> 00:32:22.840 That He would come 00:32:22.840 --> 00:32:24.320 and finally put an end 00:32:24.320 --> 00:32:25.019 to sin 00:32:25.019 --> 00:32:26.980 and an end to death 00:32:26.980 --> 00:32:29.120 and an end to the devil 00:32:29.120 --> 00:32:30.840 and that we would be made 00:32:30.840 --> 00:32:32.560 fit for eternity with Him 00:32:32.560 --> 00:32:33.259 in the new heavens 00:32:33.259 --> 00:32:34.080 and the new earth. 00:32:34.519 --> 00:32:35.680 That's what awaits us 00:32:35.680 --> 00:32:36.860 who believe in Christ. 00:32:36.859 --> 00:32:40.219 Our hope is not just heaven 00:32:40.219 --> 00:32:41.639 as good as that will be. 00:32:41.879 --> 00:32:43.319 It is the new heavens 00:32:43.319 --> 00:32:44.379 and the new earth 00:32:44.379 --> 00:32:45.219 and we, 00:32:45.500 --> 00:32:46.579 the new Jerusalem, 00:32:47.119 --> 00:32:48.000 fully prepared 00:32:48.000 --> 00:32:48.719 and adorned 00:32:48.719 --> 00:32:49.819 for all eternity 00:32:49.819 --> 00:32:50.479 with the Lord. 00:32:52.479 --> 00:32:53.019 Friend, 00:32:53.059 --> 00:32:53.839 is that your hope? 00:32:55.919 --> 00:32:57.059 If not, 00:32:58.219 --> 00:32:59.039 then you're called 00:32:59.039 --> 00:33:00.839 right this moment 00:33:00.839 --> 00:33:01.699 to turn 00:33:01.699 --> 00:33:02.939 and to put your faith 00:33:02.939 --> 00:33:03.659 in Christ 00:33:03.660 --> 00:33:05.840 and receive this certain hope 00:33:05.840 --> 00:33:07.380 of life forever with Him. 00:33:09.160 --> 00:33:09.840 And if so, 00:33:09.980 --> 00:33:11.880 if this is your hope, 00:33:12.000 --> 00:33:12.840 then friend, 00:33:12.920 --> 00:33:13.380 we need to ask 00:33:13.380 --> 00:33:14.540 one final question here 00:33:14.540 --> 00:33:15.120 as we close. 00:33:15.279 --> 00:33:15.660 Fifth. 00:33:16.100 --> 00:33:17.040 Fifth question. 00:33:17.880 --> 00:33:18.519 So what? 00:33:19.840 --> 00:33:20.500 So what? 00:33:20.640 --> 00:33:20.800 You know, 00:33:20.860 --> 00:33:23.220 Paul is never content 00:33:23.220 --> 00:33:24.580 to just give us doctrine 00:33:24.580 --> 00:33:25.500 without application. 00:33:26.400 --> 00:33:27.420 He wants theology 00:33:27.420 --> 00:33:28.440 that walks. 00:33:29.720 --> 00:33:30.360 What difference 00:33:30.360 --> 00:33:31.340 does all of this make? 00:33:31.339 --> 00:33:32.000 God wants you to look there 00:33:32.000 --> 00:33:33.079 to verses 57 00:33:33.079 --> 00:33:34.759 and following. 00:33:35.079 --> 00:33:35.699 And here, 00:33:36.039 --> 00:33:36.819 Paul closes out 00:33:36.819 --> 00:33:37.939 with four applications. 00:33:39.159 --> 00:33:40.259 Application number one, 00:33:41.459 --> 00:33:42.480 thank God 00:33:42.480 --> 00:33:43.659 for the gospel 00:33:43.659 --> 00:33:44.779 of Jesus Christ. 00:33:46.319 --> 00:33:47.539 Thank God. 00:33:47.740 --> 00:33:49.639 If this is what awaits us, 00:33:50.419 --> 00:33:51.279 then we ought to live 00:33:51.279 --> 00:33:53.319 a life of thankfulness 00:33:53.319 --> 00:33:54.359 to God in Christ 00:33:54.359 --> 00:33:55.899 right now. 00:33:56.179 --> 00:33:57.720 Thanks be to God, 00:33:57.799 --> 00:33:58.299 he says, 00:33:58.439 --> 00:33:59.679 who gives us victory 00:33:59.679 --> 00:34:01.199 through our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:34:02.279 --> 00:34:03.000 Thank you, 00:34:03.339 --> 00:34:03.720 God, 00:34:03.819 --> 00:34:04.980 for rescuing me 00:34:04.980 --> 00:34:06.139 from this body of death. 00:34:06.899 --> 00:34:07.480 Thank you, 00:34:07.619 --> 00:34:07.899 God, 00:34:07.959 --> 00:34:09.940 for hope beyond the grave. 00:34:10.460 --> 00:34:10.900 Thank you, 00:34:10.980 --> 00:34:11.159 God, 00:34:11.239 --> 00:34:12.599 for the hope of freedom 00:34:12.599 --> 00:34:13.819 from the pain 00:34:13.819 --> 00:34:14.579 and the aches 00:34:14.579 --> 00:34:15.380 and the suffering 00:34:15.380 --> 00:34:16.519 that I feel in this life. 00:34:16.940 --> 00:34:17.500 Thank you, 00:34:17.579 --> 00:34:17.819 God, 00:34:17.880 --> 00:34:18.900 for the certain hope 00:34:18.900 --> 00:34:20.039 of eternity forever 00:34:20.039 --> 00:34:21.000 in a physical, 00:34:21.340 --> 00:34:21.659 real, 00:34:21.860 --> 00:34:22.279 tangible, 00:34:22.659 --> 00:34:24.059 remade universe. 00:34:26.000 --> 00:34:27.079 Second application. 00:34:27.079 --> 00:34:27.480 Therefore, 00:34:27.719 --> 00:34:28.579 my beloved brothers, 00:34:28.719 --> 00:34:30.079 be steadfast. 00:34:31.340 --> 00:34:33.780 be steadfast. 00:34:35.220 --> 00:34:36.480 In the midst 00:34:36.480 --> 00:34:37.920 of an ever-changing world, 00:34:38.980 --> 00:34:40.100 our culture 00:34:40.100 --> 00:34:42.820 changes day by day, 00:34:42.940 --> 00:34:44.340 ever-changing expectations 00:34:44.340 --> 00:34:45.620 and norms 00:34:45.620 --> 00:34:46.500 for what's wrong, 00:34:46.600 --> 00:34:47.079 what's right, 00:34:47.160 --> 00:34:47.860 what's acceptable, 00:34:48.039 --> 00:34:48.740 what's not. 00:34:49.140 --> 00:34:50.559 The certain hope 00:34:50.559 --> 00:34:51.440 of eternity 00:34:51.440 --> 00:34:52.280 with the Lord 00:34:52.280 --> 00:34:53.700 in an unshakable, 00:34:53.900 --> 00:34:55.100 unchanging kingdom 00:34:55.100 --> 00:34:56.840 encourages God's people 00:34:56.840 --> 00:34:58.480 to be faithful. 00:34:59.980 --> 00:35:02.320 Life is just a vapor. 00:35:03.579 --> 00:35:04.039 And then, 00:35:04.380 --> 00:35:05.039 eternity. 00:35:05.860 --> 00:35:06.780 Be steadfast, 00:35:07.180 --> 00:35:07.500 believer. 00:35:07.680 --> 00:35:08.440 Third application, 00:35:08.640 --> 00:35:08.940 he says, 00:35:09.039 --> 00:35:10.280 be immovable. 00:35:11.780 --> 00:35:13.140 Be immovable. 00:35:14.720 --> 00:35:15.240 You know, 00:35:15.280 --> 00:35:16.559 when your heart 00:35:16.559 --> 00:35:18.640 and your mind 00:35:18.640 --> 00:35:20.100 and your soul 00:35:20.100 --> 00:35:20.840 are so anchored 00:35:20.840 --> 00:35:22.340 anchored in eternity, 00:35:22.340 --> 00:35:23.700 you will not be 00:35:23.700 --> 00:35:24.960 easily shaken 00:35:24.960 --> 00:35:26.320 by the present. 00:35:27.900 --> 00:35:28.920 When you're so full 00:35:28.920 --> 00:35:29.480 of hope 00:35:29.480 --> 00:35:30.380 and eager expectation 00:35:30.380 --> 00:35:31.280 for the joys 00:35:31.280 --> 00:35:31.760 of the kingdom 00:35:31.760 --> 00:35:32.380 to come, 00:35:32.640 --> 00:35:33.460 you will not 00:35:33.460 --> 00:35:35.000 be easily uprooted 00:35:35.000 --> 00:35:35.860 by the trials 00:35:35.860 --> 00:35:36.700 of the present. 00:35:38.039 --> 00:35:39.120 When your mind 00:35:39.120 --> 00:35:40.160 is steadfastly 00:35:40.160 --> 00:35:41.160 fixed on the truth, 00:35:41.240 --> 00:35:41.860 you will not be 00:35:41.860 --> 00:35:43.039 easily swept away 00:35:43.039 --> 00:35:43.800 by every wind 00:35:43.800 --> 00:35:44.240 and wave 00:35:44.240 --> 00:35:45.360 of false doctrine. 00:35:45.559 --> 00:35:46.660 Be immovable, 00:35:46.960 --> 00:35:47.240 believer, 00:35:47.760 --> 00:35:48.660 as you hope 00:35:48.659 --> 00:35:50.679 in your certain future. 00:35:52.139 --> 00:35:53.299 Application number four. 00:35:54.440 --> 00:35:55.000 He says, 00:35:55.440 --> 00:35:57.079 always abound 00:35:57.079 --> 00:35:58.079 in the work 00:35:58.079 --> 00:35:59.099 of the Lord. 00:35:59.239 --> 00:35:59.940 Always 00:35:59.940 --> 00:36:01.460 abound 00:36:01.460 --> 00:36:02.719 in the work 00:36:02.719 --> 00:36:03.920 of the Lord. 00:36:04.019 --> 00:36:04.259 Church, 00:36:04.359 --> 00:36:06.139 we have a mission 00:36:06.139 --> 00:36:07.239 here in this life. 00:36:08.259 --> 00:36:10.059 We have a mission 00:36:10.059 --> 00:36:11.119 that Christ 00:36:11.119 --> 00:36:11.899 has given us 00:36:11.899 --> 00:36:12.599 as the church 00:36:12.599 --> 00:36:14.379 here in this world. 00:36:14.480 --> 00:36:15.239 So long as we have 00:36:15.239 --> 00:36:16.219 life and breath 00:36:16.219 --> 00:36:17.980 in this physical body, 00:36:17.980 --> 00:36:18.920 we are to be 00:36:18.920 --> 00:36:20.139 always abounding 00:36:20.139 --> 00:36:20.860 in the work 00:36:20.860 --> 00:36:21.539 of the Lord. 00:36:21.639 --> 00:36:22.559 We have a mission 00:36:22.559 --> 00:36:23.420 to accomplish. 00:36:25.000 --> 00:36:25.460 Y'all know 00:36:25.460 --> 00:36:25.900 the mission 00:36:25.900 --> 00:36:26.679 of our church. 00:36:27.719 --> 00:36:28.460 We exist 00:36:28.460 --> 00:36:29.740 to magnify 00:36:29.740 --> 00:36:31.139 the glory of God 00:36:31.139 --> 00:36:31.920 in the gospel 00:36:31.920 --> 00:36:33.679 of Jesus Christ. 00:36:34.280 --> 00:36:34.900 Three ways 00:36:34.900 --> 00:36:35.420 we do it. 00:36:36.300 --> 00:36:37.659 As we enjoy God, 00:36:38.219 --> 00:36:39.400 as we equip 00:36:39.400 --> 00:36:40.119 the saints, 00:36:40.760 --> 00:36:42.460 as we evangelize 00:36:42.460 --> 00:36:43.400 the lost, 00:36:44.940 --> 00:36:45.880 our hope 00:36:45.880 --> 00:36:47.260 in our certain future 00:36:47.260 --> 00:36:48.360 does not mean 00:36:48.360 --> 00:36:48.900 that we just 00:36:48.900 --> 00:36:49.740 check out 00:36:49.740 --> 00:36:51.040 and wait for death 00:36:51.040 --> 00:36:51.980 and wait for eternity 00:36:51.980 --> 00:36:52.640 with the Lord. 00:36:53.160 --> 00:36:53.440 No. 00:36:54.620 --> 00:36:55.480 We know 00:36:55.480 --> 00:36:56.880 that we ought 00:36:56.880 --> 00:36:58.200 to always abound 00:36:58.200 --> 00:36:58.900 in the work 00:36:58.900 --> 00:36:59.840 of the Lord, 00:37:00.200 --> 00:37:01.380 knowing that in the Lord 00:37:01.380 --> 00:37:02.060 your labor 00:37:02.060 --> 00:37:03.740 is not in vain, 00:37:04.640 --> 00:37:05.420 but will echo 00:37:05.420 --> 00:37:06.820 into eternity 00:37:06.820 --> 00:37:07.560 to the praise 00:37:07.560 --> 00:37:08.540 and glory of God. 00:37:09.880 --> 00:37:10.600 Let's pray. 00:37:10.840 --> 00:37:11.080 Lord, 00:37:11.080 --> 00:37:11.140 Lord, 00:37:11.139 --> 00:37:15.440 God, 00:37:15.500 --> 00:37:15.900 we thank you 00:37:15.900 --> 00:37:16.480 for the hope 00:37:16.480 --> 00:37:17.420 of eternity 00:37:17.420 --> 00:37:18.119 with Christ. 00:37:19.019 --> 00:37:19.980 We thank you 00:37:19.980 --> 00:37:20.539 that Christ 00:37:20.539 --> 00:37:21.359 has come to be 00:37:21.359 --> 00:37:22.659 as we are, 00:37:22.759 --> 00:37:23.539 that he might 00:37:23.539 --> 00:37:24.079 make us 00:37:24.079 --> 00:37:25.099 as he is 00:37:25.099 --> 00:37:26.039 in resurrection 00:37:26.039 --> 00:37:26.920 power. 00:37:28.019 --> 00:37:28.739 We thank you, 00:37:28.839 --> 00:37:28.940 Lord, 00:37:29.000 --> 00:37:29.480 for the certain 00:37:29.480 --> 00:37:30.519 hope that we have 00:37:30.519 --> 00:37:31.519 that we get 00:37:31.519 --> 00:37:32.739 to enjoy you, 00:37:32.980 --> 00:37:33.719 feast forever 00:37:33.719 --> 00:37:34.440 on all of 00:37:34.440 --> 00:37:35.960 your glory, 00:37:36.099 --> 00:37:36.960 all of your grace, 00:37:37.079 --> 00:37:37.599 that we'll be made 00:37:37.599 --> 00:37:38.920 fit for eternity. 00:37:38.920 --> 00:37:42.740 Lord, 00:37:42.780 --> 00:37:43.380 we pray that 00:37:43.380 --> 00:37:44.579 in light of this 00:37:44.579 --> 00:37:46.980 we would hope 00:37:46.980 --> 00:37:49.340 in what you've given us 00:37:49.340 --> 00:37:50.900 and that we would 00:37:50.900 --> 00:37:51.539 always abound 00:37:51.539 --> 00:37:51.940 in the work 00:37:51.940 --> 00:37:52.440 of the Lord. 00:37:53.720 --> 00:37:54.440 We pray this 00:37:54.440 --> 00:37:55.099 in Jesus' name. 00:37:55.840 --> 00:37:56.079 Amen.