WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.960 For our New Testament reading, we're going to read two portions of 1 Corinthians chapter 15. 00:00:08.439 --> 00:00:12.000 ! We're going to read some from the beginning of the chapter and some from the end. 00:00:12.000 --> 00:00:15.000 It's a long chapter. If you get a chance, you can read it. 00:00:15.000 --> 00:00:19.000 It's really focusing on the central truth of the resurrection. 00:00:19.000 --> 00:00:22.000 No resurrection, no hope. 00:00:22.000 --> 00:00:25.000 If Jesus is not raised, we are not raised. 00:00:25.000 --> 00:00:31.000 Our hope, our faith is futile, and we are actually to be pitied more than all others. 00:00:31.000 --> 00:00:36.000 But yet, Jesus was raised, and in his resurrection, we have hope. 00:00:36.000 --> 00:00:40.000 Hope in the face of death and hope beyond death. 00:00:40.000 --> 00:00:47.000 So let's hear the opening words of 1 Corinthians chapter 15 and the closing words of that same chapter. 00:00:47.000 --> 00:00:49.000 So from verse 1, 00:00:49.000 --> 00:01:17.000 1 Corinthians chapter 15, 00:01:17.000 --> 00:01:23.879 Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was 00:01:23.879 --> 00:01:29.640 raised on the third day according to the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas and then to the 00:01:29.640 --> 00:01:35.980 twelve. After that he appeared to more than 500 of the brothers and sisters at the same time, 00:01:36.539 --> 00:01:42.359 most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, 00:01:42.359 --> 00:01:48.900 then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also as to one abnormally born. 00:01:50.060 --> 00:01:57.099 For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle because I 00:01:57.099 --> 00:02:04.099 persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not 00:02:04.099 --> 00:02:12.020 without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 00:02:12.360 --> 00:02:19.740 Whether then it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed. 00:02:20.720 --> 00:02:26.840 And we're now going to read from the same chapter, chapter 15, and we'll pick up at the end 00:02:26.840 --> 00:02:36.340 sort of the application of this reality. Jesus is raised, we too look forward to resurrection. 00:02:36.340 --> 00:02:44.580 Verse 50, I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of 00:02:44.580 --> 00:02:54.140 God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, 00:02:54.259 --> 00:03:02.180 but we will all be changed in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will 00:03:02.180 --> 00:03:10.099 sound and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe 00:03:10.099 --> 00:03:16.879 itself with the imperishable and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed 00:03:16.879 --> 00:03:22.340 with the imperishable and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true, 00:03:22.340 --> 00:03:30.920 death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? 00:03:31.860 --> 00:03:40.500 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, he gives us the victory 00:03:40.500 --> 00:03:48.860 through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. 00:03:48.860 --> 00:03:56.440 Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord 00:03:56.440 --> 00:04:06.300 is not in vain. Amen, and may God bless these readings from his word, from the old, from the new. We read in 00:04:06.300 --> 00:04:16.040 Psalm 118 of shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous. We read that death has been 00:04:16.040 --> 00:04:23.700 swallowed up in victory. Now, I don't usually tell you what the Greek or the Hebrew words are, 00:04:23.700 --> 00:04:29.080 but in this particular case, you might be familiar with the Greek word for victory, even if you didn't 00:04:29.080 --> 00:04:36.939 know that's what it meant. But the shoe and sporting goods manufacturer, I think you say Nike here, 00:04:37.020 --> 00:04:42.120 we say Nike in America, that means victory. That's the Greek word for victory. 00:04:42.120 --> 00:04:50.060 Now, when you're translating, or if you're living in a different culture, you quickly realize that much 00:04:50.060 --> 00:04:57.360 is lost in translation. That much just doesn't equate one to another, whether you're looking at 00:04:57.360 --> 00:05:02.180 language or whether you're looking at culture. When I lived in Japan, there were certain obvious 00:05:02.180 --> 00:05:10.600 examples. The food, most of the food translates very well. The main course, sushi, or all the different 00:05:10.600 --> 00:05:17.580 types of food that you would have for your main course. But Japanese sweets, unless, I mean, 00:05:17.660 --> 00:05:25.840 the idea of sweetened soybean paste wrapped in kind of a glutinous jelly. I mean, if that appeals to you, 00:05:25.879 --> 00:05:31.720 then you'll love Japanese sweets. But basically, it tastes as good as it sounds. It doesn't taste that 00:05:31.720 --> 00:05:36.840 good because it doesn't sound that good. But that's something that often Westerners would say, 00:05:36.839 --> 00:05:44.219 I love Japanese food, but I don't like Japanese sweets. The opposite we also found was when we 00:05:44.219 --> 00:05:51.599 were trying as teachers, one of the most difficult lessons was the lesson on idiom. You know, English, 00:05:51.779 --> 00:05:56.959 you know, that we use, or I remember teaching a lesson and, you know, teaching the phrase, 00:05:56.959 --> 00:06:04.359 it's raining cats and dogs. Now, in English, I don't ever say, I mean, I know what it means, 00:06:04.419 --> 00:06:09.359 I don't ever say it, but you just can't translate that from one language to another because people 00:06:09.359 --> 00:06:13.279 are going to be looking up and saying, is that what happens in your culture? And you say, no, 00:06:13.359 --> 00:06:19.379 no, that's not. So we're kind of used to the fact that when you go east to west or when you go north 00:06:19.379 --> 00:06:26.279 to south, when you cross linguistic divides, things kind of don't really cross those divides. 00:06:27.139 --> 00:06:33.899 But when they do, there's something significant. When you have an image or a metaphor, when you have 00:06:33.899 --> 00:06:41.860 an illustration that works in two very different settings, I think that's significant. I think it's 00:06:41.860 --> 00:06:48.079 significant because it reminds us that there's something universal here. There's something that 00:06:48.079 --> 00:06:54.259 reminds us that we are not dealing just with one culture or one people. The example I'd like to 00:06:54.259 --> 00:07:03.360 highlight is the idea of a palm branch. You see, in the Greek culture, the palm was associated with 00:07:03.360 --> 00:07:10.439 the Olympic Games. If you won a race, if you won a wrestling match, if you won a contest, you, the winner, 00:07:10.819 --> 00:07:16.740 would be given a laurel crown and you would be given a palm branch to hold in your hand. That would 00:07:16.740 --> 00:07:26.620 signify victory. But this image also works in the Jewish context. In Leviticus, we see Leviticus 23, 00:07:27.340 --> 00:07:35.180 when the festival of the tabernacles is described. The booths are to be made and palm branches, the 00:07:35.180 --> 00:07:43.980 foliage of luxurious trees were to be used. And the palm also within the Jewish culture would be a symbol 00:07:43.980 --> 00:07:52.100 to a victory. So when you have these crossover images, there are then, you fast forward to the New 00:07:52.100 --> 00:07:59.160 Testament, and you realize that as you read these key passages in the New Testament, they connect with 00:07:59.160 --> 00:08:04.540 very different cultures and very different backgrounds because they're saying the same thing. 00:08:05.319 --> 00:08:11.960 They're not lost in translation, but they're clear in the Greek and Roman culture and in the Jewish 00:08:11.959 --> 00:08:17.180 culture, which really in the ancient world, that means everybody. You put those two together, Jew and 00:08:17.180 --> 00:08:25.539 Gentile, and they get it. When you come to the New Testament, there are only two passages in which palm 00:08:25.539 --> 00:08:34.500 branches are mentioned. The first one is quite understandable. The first one is in John chapter 12, 00:08:34.500 --> 00:08:42.340 and this is why we call the triumphal entry of Jesus, occurred on Palm Sunday. The other three Gospels 00:08:42.340 --> 00:08:49.639 mention branches, but it's only John's Gospel that mentions that they're palm branches. John chapter 12, 00:08:49.720 --> 00:08:55.539 verse 12, the next day, the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way 00:08:55.539 --> 00:09:02.639 to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in 00:09:02.639 --> 00:09:09.080 the name of the Lord. Blessed is the king of Israel. So from a Jewish context and from a Greek context, 00:09:09.080 --> 00:09:16.720 here is a welcome that is fit for a victorious warrior king. Now of course we know that the 00:09:16.720 --> 00:09:22.580 triumphal entry, Palm Sunday, was a preview of coming attractions. It wasn't the victory itself, 00:09:22.960 --> 00:09:30.879 but Jesus was coming into Jerusalem to achieve this great and final victory. But the palm branches 00:09:30.879 --> 00:09:38.840 were very suitable, were they not? A welcome fit for a king, an honor fit for a victorious warrior. 00:09:39.919 --> 00:09:47.439 But as I mentioned, in the Olympic Games, only one gets the palm. Only one gets the wreath of laurel. 00:09:47.580 --> 00:09:53.200 Only one gets the palm branch. I don't think there was a gold or I don't think there was a silver or a 00:09:53.200 --> 00:10:00.060 bronze medal. I don't think I might be wrong. At least Google didn't tell me this. But I don't think 00:10:00.060 --> 00:10:04.960 there were second place and third place prizes like we're accustomed to at the modern Olympics. 00:10:05.840 --> 00:10:14.220 So you have the palms spread out before Jesus, prefiguring the victory that he would win. Remember, 00:10:14.360 --> 00:10:21.000 Jesus came to conquer. He came to conquer sin and he defeated sin. He came to conquer evil and he 00:10:21.000 --> 00:10:27.720 overcame evil. He came to conquer death and he vanquished death. Even on the cross itself, we see 00:10:27.720 --> 00:10:38.200 that indication of his victory. It is finished, he said, on the cross, paid in full. Your debt, my debt, satisfied. 00:10:39.419 --> 00:10:47.539 Now the second mention of the second and only mention of the palm branch in the New Testament occurs in 00:10:47.539 --> 00:10:56.099 Revelation chapter 7. And this one is not so easy to understand. Not so easy apart from the insight 00:10:56.099 --> 00:11:02.360 that were given by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15. We'll come back to that in just a minute. Revelation 7, 00:11:02.459 --> 00:11:08.339 you might have guessed it already. After this, I looked and there before me was a great multitude 00:11:08.339 --> 00:11:15.860 that no one could count. From every nation, tribe, people, and language, standing before the throne 00:11:15.860 --> 00:11:22.800 and before the lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 00:11:23.659 --> 00:11:31.620 I'm just back from camp, Renfrew Senior Camp. Donald Forsyth and myself were among the more senior leaders. 00:11:32.800 --> 00:11:39.700 Karis Little was among the more junior leaders. So Buclew was well represented at camp. 00:11:39.700 --> 00:11:48.259 And we had a Vietnam night. Martin Patterson, his wife Jennifer, their children Luke and Josh and Sophia, 00:11:48.840 --> 00:11:55.920 they are serving with OMF in Hanoi. And they came and spoke with the young people. They told the young 00:11:55.920 --> 00:12:02.060 people that the population of Vietnam is 100 million. The population of Hanoi is 10 million. 00:12:02.059 --> 00:12:10.199 Hanoi was the northern, or the capital of North Vietnam is, you know, from an old Vietnam War scenario. 00:12:10.779 --> 00:12:17.579 Ho Chi Minh City, Saigon in the south is a little bit larger, 12 million. And it's a very young population. 00:12:17.739 --> 00:12:23.859 There's a million students in Hanoi out of a population of 10 million, which is a huge amount. 00:12:23.860 --> 00:12:29.840 And I remember reading this at the meeting, because Martin was mentioning that in Vietnam, 00:12:30.220 --> 00:12:37.639 there's a majority people group, the king people, they are 85% of the population. And there are 53 00:12:37.639 --> 00:12:46.399 minority groups. Now a passage like Revelation 7 tells us that on that great day, all of those people 00:12:46.399 --> 00:12:53.399 groups will be represented. All of those different tribes will be present in that place, on that 00:12:53.399 --> 00:12:58.799 occasion. But what I want to stress to you tonight is not just the variety, which there will be, 00:12:59.120 --> 00:13:06.459 not just the multiplicity, you can't count them, but notice the imagery here. That each one of this 00:13:06.459 --> 00:13:14.919 innumerable multitude has the same clothing and has the same accessory. They're wearing the same clothes, 00:13:15.000 --> 00:13:23.139 they're wearing robes, and they have in their hands palm branches. Now that's where the classical 00:13:23.139 --> 00:13:33.000 image breaks down. Because one contest, one victor, one palm branch. Now there's one contest, 00:13:33.379 --> 00:13:41.399 one victor, and a multitude of people holding the palm branches. How is it that each one of these 00:13:41.399 --> 00:13:50.059 people is numbered as the victor when only one won the contest? Well, if you turn back to that passage 00:13:50.059 --> 00:14:01.919 that we read from chapter 15 in 1 Corinthians, we're told that death and the grave brings a sting. 00:14:02.559 --> 00:14:11.219 And it seems as if death had a 100% success rate. Now I know of Enoch and Elijah, I know there were two 00:14:11.219 --> 00:14:19.079 who were taken from earth without death. Let's call those the exceptions. The rule is life is followed by 00:14:19.080 --> 00:14:27.740 death. And he died, and he died, and he died, and he died. There seems to be a monotonous pattern here. 00:14:28.180 --> 00:14:37.560 You live and you die, you live and you die. Now Jesus has come to take the sting out of death. Jesus has come 00:14:37.560 --> 00:14:46.520 to vanquish and to defeat the grave. Jesus has come to over, to turn the tables so that death no longer has the 00:14:46.519 --> 00:14:54.000 final word. So that evil no longer seems to have the final victory. And that the wages of sin does not 00:14:54.000 --> 00:15:04.100 constantly bring about the inevitable conclusion, death and sting and sorrow. The sting of death is sin, 00:15:04.220 --> 00:15:11.439 and the power of sin is the law, Paul tells us. But thanks be to God, he gives us the victory 00:15:11.440 --> 00:15:19.820 through our Lord Jesus Christ. When we read the New Testament, we are constantly confronted with key 00:15:19.820 --> 00:15:27.780 terms that bring us back to key events. What happened on Friday, the Good Friday event, we describe as the 00:15:27.780 --> 00:15:35.740 atonement, where there is now a coming together, a reconciliation, an atoning, where God who is high 00:15:35.740 --> 00:15:43.700 and lifted up, holy, holy, holy, holy, and a people who are sinful in act, in word, and in thought, a holy 00:15:43.700 --> 00:15:51.299 God and a sinful people are somehow brought together. And as you read through the New Testament, the words 00:15:51.299 --> 00:15:59.399 that are used are so many and so varied. Words like sacrifice, words like reconciliation, words like 00:15:59.399 --> 00:16:08.720 ransom or redemption, words like justification, words like propitiation, words like peace, and words like victory. 00:16:09.399 --> 00:16:19.500 All of these words point to the event, point to the contest, but they point to them in a different way. For example, 00:16:19.500 --> 00:16:26.539 the word reconciliation. If you look at 2 Corinthians chapter 5, the Apostle Paul tells us that the ministry of the 00:16:26.539 --> 00:16:32.919 gospel is the ministry of reconciliation. If any man is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old is gone, 00:16:32.980 --> 00:16:42.099 the new has come. You see, God has so planned the work of Jesus that he who knew no sin became sin for us, 00:16:42.099 --> 00:16:49.279 so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. So reconciliation is a relationship word. 00:16:50.240 --> 00:16:56.459 Estrangement, sin brings separation, the gospel brings reconciliation. Enemies become friends, 00:16:56.539 --> 00:17:04.200 opponents become allies. Opponents become allies. The word victory is a battlefield word. You see, 00:17:04.200 --> 00:17:10.759 there are many and varied enemies in the Christian life. The Bible tends to highlight three with 00:17:10.759 --> 00:17:20.339 consistent emphasis. There is an internal enemy. There's a, what we call the flesh, our internal desires, 00:17:20.480 --> 00:17:26.220 the thoughts and the inclinations of our heart and the thoughts of our mind and the natural course, 00:17:26.220 --> 00:17:32.819 the direction that we would naturally take. We are fallen human beings. We have fallen minds and 00:17:32.819 --> 00:17:40.059 hearts. Our wills, even our very bodies are experiencing the reality of the fall. We are now 00:17:40.059 --> 00:17:48.860 mortal. We were created for immortality. Sin brings death and sin brings decay. So you have the internal 00:17:48.859 --> 00:17:56.259 enemy of the flesh. There's also an external or two external enemies, actually. There's the world, 00:17:56.819 --> 00:18:02.659 the world that did not know, the world that does not realize, the world that does not welcome, the world 00:18:02.659 --> 00:18:10.099 that is not interested, the world, this world system in which we live that is moving in a completely 00:18:10.099 --> 00:18:16.899 different direction. You see, there is a current that is moving people in a direction and it is not 00:18:16.900 --> 00:18:24.460 towards God. It's away from God. When I go swimming in the Atlantic Ocean in New Jersey, the place that 00:18:24.460 --> 00:18:31.040 we go swimming is known for having a strong, what we call, undertow. So you might go in at Fifth Street 00:18:31.040 --> 00:18:37.640 and if you're in for quite a while, you'll come out at Seventh. You don't realize it, but the current 00:18:37.640 --> 00:18:42.900 is just moving you along. A little bit north, sometimes it moves you south. But the idea is it's 00:18:42.900 --> 00:18:48.860 imperceptible. And the world is that enemy which sometimes is very perceptible, but oftentimes it's 00:18:48.860 --> 00:18:55.000 quite subtle. But you just follow the flow. Go with the flow. The current just moves you in a direction, 00:18:55.000 --> 00:19:00.680 but it never moves you towards God. It always moves you away from God. And then there's an outright 00:19:00.680 --> 00:19:07.620 enemy, the evil one. Jesus summarizes the ministry of the evil one, if you wish to describe it in that 00:19:07.619 --> 00:19:15.059 way. The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy, John 10. That's what he comes to do. He 00:19:15.059 --> 00:19:20.339 doesn't tell the truth. He lies. He doesn't come to give. He takes. He doesn't come to bring life. He 00:19:20.339 --> 00:19:26.699 comes to bring death. He doesn't build up. He wants to tear down. The thief comes only to steal, to kill, 00:19:26.699 --> 00:19:34.939 and destroy. Jesus said, I have come that they may have life and have it more abundantly. So when we see 00:19:34.940 --> 00:19:42.799 this word victory, we are now on the battlefield, and you and I are arrayed against these three 00:19:42.799 --> 00:19:51.500 terrible enemies. The flesh, the internal enemy, the world, which surrounds us in all different ways, 00:19:51.500 --> 00:19:58.080 and the evil one who wants to kill, steal, and destroy. And we can rightly conclude that we are up 00:19:58.079 --> 00:20:05.619 against it. We are out of our depth. We are overwhelmed. And we are inevitably going to be 00:20:05.619 --> 00:20:14.599 defeated. And that, of course, is true. Unless, unless there is one who intervenes. Unless there is one who 00:20:14.599 --> 00:20:21.939 fights the battle on our behalf. Unless there is one who is stronger than the flesh, and who is greater 00:20:21.940 --> 00:20:30.680 than the world, and who has higher authority and power than the evil one. If such is the case, the flow 00:20:30.680 --> 00:20:38.120 of the battle begins to shift in the other direction. So as you read the New Testament particularly, your 00:20:38.120 --> 00:20:45.620 ears should be attentive to these key words. Remember when John the Baptist pointed to Jesus, 00:20:45.619 --> 00:20:53.719 behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. Now he wasn't identifying Jesus as a 00:20:53.719 --> 00:21:00.879 juvenile sheep. He was identifying Jesus as a sacrifice. He was using temple sacrificial language. 00:21:01.619 --> 00:21:09.819 The Lamb of God, the sacrifice that will secure the salvation, not of a few, but of a vast multitude that 00:21:09.819 --> 00:21:17.299 no one can count. And when the Apostle Paul uses this great term victory, death, death, where is your 00:21:17.299 --> 00:21:22.720 victory? You seem to have a hundred percent success rate, and yet that victory has now been overcome. 00:21:23.399 --> 00:21:29.740 Grave, where is your victory? And it seems that the tables have now been turned. The sting of death, 00:21:30.059 --> 00:21:36.960 sin, the power of sin is the law. Well, we have a Savior who kept the law perfectly. We have a Savior who 00:21:36.960 --> 00:21:44.039 is now taking the sting out of death because he took the sting upon himself. And we have a victory 00:21:44.039 --> 00:21:51.819 that is now shared. But thanks be to God, he gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:21:53.200 --> 00:22:03.079 On the 5th of June 1944, the supreme commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, 00:22:03.079 --> 00:22:11.199 he issued what was known as an order of the day. He addressed this to every soldier, sailor, and airman 00:22:11.199 --> 00:22:18.139 of the Allied forces. Eisenhower was at the top of a very big pyramid. He was a supreme commander. 00:22:18.740 --> 00:22:24.299 It was dated the 5th of June because the initial D-Day landings were planned to be the 5th. The weather 00:22:24.299 --> 00:22:31.939 was poor. They were delayed a day. And D-Day, as we know, happened on the 6th of June 1944. Let me just read, 00:22:31.940 --> 00:22:38.360 it's a short order of the day, but let me just read what he wrote. You are about to embark upon the great 00:22:38.360 --> 00:22:44.980 crusade, towards which we have striven many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hope and 00:22:44.980 --> 00:22:50.700 prayers of liberally loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave allies and 00:22:50.700 --> 00:22:56.620 brothers in arms on other fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, 00:22:56.619 --> 00:23:03.099 the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in 00:23:03.099 --> 00:23:09.759 a free world. Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well-trained, well-equipped, 00:23:10.000 --> 00:23:17.739 and battle-hardened. He will fight savagely. But this is the year 1944. Much has happened since the Nazi 00:23:17.739 --> 00:23:24.500 triumphs of 1940 to 41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats in open battle, 00:23:24.500 --> 00:23:30.519 man-to-man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to 00:23:30.519 --> 00:23:36.480 wage war on the ground. Our home fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions 00:23:36.480 --> 00:23:44.380 of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned. The free 00:23:44.380 --> 00:23:51.160 men of the world are marching together to victory. I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to 00:23:51.160 --> 00:23:58.360 duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full victory. Good luck, and let us beseech the 00:23:58.360 --> 00:24:05.740 blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking. This is often used as an illustration of 00:24:05.740 --> 00:24:12.540 motivational writing, of a way in which the general in charge of the army, the navy, and the air force 00:24:12.539 --> 00:24:19.099 is marshaling his forces and preparing them for great battle. And it just seems so exciting and so 00:24:19.099 --> 00:24:25.899 enthusing. And of course we know how the battle ended. That the D-Day landings were successful and it was the 00:24:25.899 --> 00:24:32.379 beginning of the end for the German Empire on the continent of Europe. But what was less well known 00:24:32.380 --> 00:24:42.700 is that Eisenhower wrote a second dispatch on the 5th of June 1944. That dispatch was much shorter, and the 00:24:42.700 --> 00:24:49.820 tone of that dispatch was much different. Our landings in the Cherbourg-Havre area have failed to gain a 00:24:50.460 --> 00:24:57.900 satisfactory foothold, and I have withdrawn the troops. My decision to attack at this time and place 00:24:57.900 --> 00:25:07.180 was based on the best information available. The troops, the air, and the navy did all that bravery and devotion to 00:25:07.180 --> 00:25:17.660 duty could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt, it is mine alone." You see, the 5th of June, the 6th of 00:25:17.660 --> 00:25:25.259 June, no one knew the outcome. The desire was victory, the hope was victory, the goal was victory, but the outcome was not 00:25:25.259 --> 00:25:34.299 known. Unlike Jesus. Jesus had a clear goal, Jesus had a clear destination, but Jesus had a guaranteed 00:25:35.099 --> 00:25:41.420 victory. It's a guaranteed victory over the world, the flesh, and the devil. A guaranteed victory over 00:25:41.420 --> 00:25:47.980 death and sin and evil. So it's not just a motivational speech. The Apostle Paul is not just trying to 00:25:47.980 --> 00:25:54.460 encourage a group of disparate and discourage Christians. He is reminding them of a fact, an 00:25:54.460 --> 00:26:01.259 unalterable fact of history that was predicted, that was confirmed, and that is now guaranteed. 00:26:01.819 --> 00:26:09.819 That we have a Savior Jesus who is victorious over all enemies. He is victorious over death, he is 00:26:09.819 --> 00:26:16.299 victorious over evil, he is victorious over sin. And that's why the palm branches were thrown in expectation. 00:26:16.299 --> 00:26:23.579 Now you see, this is an example where the crowd did more than they realized. The crowd said more than 00:26:23.579 --> 00:26:31.099 they understood. They praised the triumphant king on the Sunday of Palm Sunday. Five days hence, 00:26:31.099 --> 00:26:36.779 many of their voices would have been united in a much different chorus. Remember when they said, 00:26:36.779 --> 00:26:45.419 crucify, crucify. What shall I do with your king? Will I crucify your king? What about, who shall I release 00:26:45.420 --> 00:26:51.660 to you? Away with this man? Give us Barabbas. A much different cry just five days later. So the cries of 00:26:51.660 --> 00:26:59.980 Hosanna and the palm branches were done accurately. Jesus was described accurately. The palm branches 00:26:59.980 --> 00:27:06.060 signified a coming victory, but many in the crowd would not have appreciated what was going on. 00:27:06.060 --> 00:27:13.019 They had certain expectations that Jesus didn't meet. But we now know. And when the Apostle Paul says, 00:27:13.019 --> 00:27:23.660 thanks be to God, he gives us. That's a remarkable combination. He, the subject, Jesus, gives, the verb, 00:27:24.379 --> 00:27:31.900 us. We are the recipients. We are the receivers of the victory. And that's why in Revelation chapter 7, 00:27:31.900 --> 00:27:38.540 everyone's wearing the same clothes. Their robes are white. Why they've been washed in the blood of the Lamb. 00:27:39.019 --> 00:27:46.620 No longer any sin. No longer any guilt. No longer any shame. No smudge. No stain. White robes. 00:27:47.259 --> 00:27:53.580 And they're holding in their hands a palm branch. They are now numbered as the victorious. 00:27:53.579 --> 00:28:01.259 I think we need to be reminded. This is not a motivational speech. This is not a chance to rally 00:28:01.259 --> 00:28:08.059 the troops on the dawn of a day of great battle. But the Apostle Paul is reminding his audience, 00:28:08.059 --> 00:28:17.659 and I am trying to remind myself and you, that we are victorious in Jesus. He alone is victorious, 00:28:17.660 --> 00:28:27.180 and he shares his victory with us. We might often feel the exact opposite. Not victorious, but defeated. 00:28:28.060 --> 00:28:35.660 Not feeling a sense of success, but a feeling, a sense of being vanquished, disheartened, discouraged. 00:28:36.860 --> 00:28:44.380 You see, good theology should be accompanied with heart and with head and with heart and with will. 00:28:44.380 --> 00:28:55.260 You see, if we know the facts, that should shape how we feel. If we know the facts, that should shape what we desire. 00:28:55.740 --> 00:29:01.340 Because we know not just that we are on the side that one day might possibly somehow, some way win. 00:29:01.740 --> 00:29:08.620 We are on the side that has won. And the victory one day will be demonstrated to all. 00:29:08.619 --> 00:29:16.299 The victory that is won by one Jesus Christ is shared now with all of his people. 00:29:17.179 --> 00:29:22.619 Well, what do we do? What do we do in light of this knowledge? What do we do in light of this truth? 00:29:23.500 --> 00:29:32.139 Well, the Apostle Paul is no mean preacher. He doesn't give you any hesitation. There's no question mark as to what he wants you to do with what you have just learned. 00:29:32.140 --> 00:29:41.560 If Jesus is victorious, and he is. If Jesus has defeated death, and he did. If Jesus has overcome evil and sin, which he has done. 00:29:42.140 --> 00:29:43.040 Verse 58. 00:29:44.060 --> 00:29:53.120 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Stand firm. Stand firm. Hold your ground. 00:29:53.880 --> 00:29:57.920 You're on the winning side. You are representing Jesus who is victorious. 00:29:57.920 --> 00:30:02.420 Stand firm. Stand firm. Let nothing move you. 00:30:03.240 --> 00:30:05.960 The first part of this verse looks quite static. 00:30:06.680 --> 00:30:08.500 Stand firm. Let nothing move you. 00:30:08.519 --> 00:30:13.019 As if something or someone is trying to move you, and you're standing your ground. 00:30:13.140 --> 00:30:14.420 That's quite static. 00:30:15.279 --> 00:30:20.039 But notice that the static image gives way to an active image. 00:30:20.800 --> 00:30:24.779 Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord. 00:30:25.340 --> 00:30:26.720 How do you stand firm? 00:30:26.720 --> 00:30:31.480 How do you remain immovable? 00:30:32.079 --> 00:30:37.880 The best way of standing firm, and the best way of remaining immovable, is abounding in his work. 00:30:38.180 --> 00:30:40.000 Is abounding in his service. 00:30:40.339 --> 00:30:45.220 You see, when we abound in his work, that's when we stand firm in the faith. 00:30:45.480 --> 00:30:52.480 When we abound in his service, that's how we do not lose heart, or that's how we do not lose our place. 00:30:52.480 --> 00:30:53.160 Why? 00:30:53.160 --> 00:30:53.400 Why? 00:30:53.819 --> 00:30:59.799 Because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 00:31:00.700 --> 00:31:03.539 Much of our labor seems to be vain and pointless. 00:31:04.220 --> 00:31:15.839 Much of our efforts, much of the words that we speak, and if we're honest, oftentimes we feel much many of the prayers that we pray appear to be without effect. 00:31:15.839 --> 00:31:20.599 We are simply told here that that is not possible. 00:31:20.599 --> 00:31:35.599 When we invoke the name of the Lord, when we serve him, when we speak on his behalf, when we implore him in prayer, all of these fall under the category of labor in the Lord. 00:31:35.599 --> 00:31:53.559 We are guaranteed by God, who cannot lie, that whatever we do in his name, whatever we do in his cause, whatever we do in his service, that prayer, that service, that speaking will never be of no effect. 00:31:53.919 --> 00:31:55.799 He will always do something. 00:31:56.439 --> 00:31:57.579 We might not see it. 00:31:57.819 --> 00:31:59.000 We might not perceive it. 00:31:59.179 --> 00:32:00.639 It might not happen now. 00:32:00.740 --> 00:32:02.000 It might not happen tomorrow. 00:32:02.259 --> 00:32:04.099 It might not happen in our lifetime. 00:32:04.099 --> 00:32:07.519 But when you speak on behalf of Jesus, something's going to happen. 00:32:07.919 --> 00:32:11.099 When you serve on behalf of Jesus, something is going to happen. 00:32:11.399 --> 00:32:16.779 When you represent him wherever you are called, something will happen. 00:32:17.079 --> 00:32:20.299 Something will happen externally and something will happen internally. 00:32:20.779 --> 00:32:22.799 That's the best way of standing firm. 00:32:23.179 --> 00:32:28.639 That's the best way of being immovable, is being active in his service. 00:32:29.639 --> 00:32:32.439 You see, Jesus' labor was never in vain. 00:32:32.440 --> 00:32:35.120 The words that he spoke, never empty. 00:32:35.700 --> 00:32:38.580 The miracles he performed, never without effect. 00:32:39.019 --> 00:32:42.279 The sermons that he preached, the parables that he told. 00:32:42.680 --> 00:32:44.920 The life that he lived, the death that he died. 00:32:45.039 --> 00:32:48.380 The resurrection that he experienced, never without effect. 00:32:48.740 --> 00:32:51.940 And when we are united to him, the same now is true. 00:32:51.940 --> 00:33:02.900 Just as the palm branches are transferred to each one of us because we are victorious, we are no longer doing, saying, or serving in a way that is empty or fruitless. 00:33:03.700 --> 00:33:07.680 We are guaranteed that when we are in him, we are victorious. 00:33:08.460 --> 00:33:14.259 And when we are in him, our labor will never be without effect. 00:33:14.259 --> 00:33:20.859 That's what the Christians in Corinth needed to hear 2,000 years ago. 00:33:21.400 --> 00:33:23.200 That's what I need to hear tonight. 00:33:23.960 --> 00:33:25.859 I think that's what we need to hear tonight. 00:33:26.420 --> 00:33:28.279 That we have a victorious savior. 00:33:28.779 --> 00:33:30.759 He shares his victory with us. 00:33:31.140 --> 00:33:36.059 And he accompanies us in all that we do, in all that we speak. 00:33:36.059 --> 00:33:43.779 And he says, when you serve in his name, that service will always bring an effect of some sort. 00:33:44.299 --> 00:33:48.460 We trust him to be faithful, and we trust his word to be true. 00:33:49.000 --> 00:33:54.980 He has not yet let us down, and he has not yet acted contrary to his own word. 00:33:55.359 --> 00:33:57.019 He is faithful. 00:33:57.819 --> 00:33:58.500 Let's pray.