We're going to begin our worship now singing in Psalm 93, Psalm number 93, and sing Psalms.
That's on page 123 to the tune Argyle. We're going to sing the whole of this psalm.
The Lord is King, His throne endures majestic in its height. The Lord is robed in majesty and armed
with strength and might. The world is founded firm and sure, removed it cannot be. Your throne
is strong and you are God from all eternity. We're singing these verses in acknowledgement
of God being our Lord and our King, sitting on His throne, presiding over all that takes
place in His creation, the one to whom we are due to worship and also answerable to Him.
The Lord is King, His throne endures. We'll stand to sing.
The Lord is King, His throne endures majestic in its height. The Lord is robed in majesty and armed with strength and
strength and might. The Lord is founded firm and sure, removed it cannot be. Your throne is
strong and new and strong. And you are God from all eternity. The seas, O Lord, have lifted up,
the seas, O Lord, have lifted up, they lifted up their voice. The seas, O Lord, have lifted up,
they lifted up their voice. The seas, O Lord, have lifted up their wings, and made a mighty noise. The Lord, have lifted up,
And made a mighty noise
The Lord enthroned on highest throne
More powerful is He
And that met all the oceans waves
Are breakers of the sea
Your royal statutes, Lord, stand firm
And changeliness your world
And holiness adorns your house
For endless days, O Lord
We're going to call on the Lord now in prayer
Let's join together in prayer
O Lord, our gracious God
We are conscious that You have given us
So many details in Your Word
That ought to guide our minds
As we come to worship You
And among these we have been singing, Lord, of Your majesty
And of the way in which You preside over Your creation
We pray that that itself may affect our mind
In such a way tonight that we come submissively
And with delight and relish
To come to exalt Your name
And we thank You, O Lord
That these words about You
Reveal the truth about You
And that everything You say about You
Yourself and Your Word
We can take to heart as Your own infallible truth
And we thank You, Lord, that You have remembered us
In such a way as to reveal Yourself to us in this way
For every aspect of Your Word
That has come to reveal the Lord to us
And come to reveal to us what we are ourselves
They are all designed that we should know You
That we should come and fall down in adoration
And in faith before You
That we should come and possess eternal life
Through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, Your dear Son
We bless You, Lord
That tonight we have this renewed opportunity
To add those things that are still required of us
To know in our experience
To add to our knowledge
And to add to our level of commitment to You
We pray, Lord, that You would increase our understanding
We pray that You would deepen our faith
Widen our love, we pray
So that we may love as we have been loved
And that we may consider, Lord
That the pattern You have set for us
In Your great love for Your people
Is a pattern that in itself
In its perfection
Is such a great challenge to us
But we thank You
For Your grace that is promised to us each day
The grace, Lord, that we pray for
To enable us to meet and to fulfill
Every task You have given us
We pray for our worship to our worship
And that we may know Your grace
And that we may know Your grace from day to day
For Your grace itself is designed to fit with our need
And we ask, Lord, that this grace of God
This great power, this favor of God
Which is so much spoken of in Your Word
May truly be our delight this evening
We ask, Lord, with bowed heads
That we may know Your forgiveness
Your acceptance of us
We come to confess that we are not what we should be
That we are not, Lord, what You designed us to be in the beginning
That we are sinners
That we need Your forgiveness
Your cleansing
Your uplifting out of the pit of sin
That we need Your help daily in our struggles with sin
Our struggles with ourselves and our fallenness
Even, Lord, as Your redeemed people
We acknowledge that we fail daily to meet the standard
That we find in Your Word
Standard that is so matchlessly portrayed for us
In the humanity of our Lord Himself
We bless You tonight, Lord
That we have that ready access to You
Through Your Word and Spirit
We pray for Your Spirit to bless us
Oh, Lord, we pray that we may never come to
Even think reflectively or for a moment
That we are somehow sufficient in ourselves
To deal with those things that belong to our need
That belong to Your requirement of us
But we give thanks, Lord, that You are all that we require
That we have everything in You that we need
In order to live acceptably before You
So, bless to us, we pray, our gathering here this evening
Bless us in all our life as a congregation of Your people
We give thanks for the many avenues of service
That You provide for us, Lord, in this congregation
We pray that all of them may be used to the full
And we pray that You would grant us Your grace, Lord
To fulfill in these activities
Our desire to glorify Your name
That we may see Your kingdom advance
The congregation itself growing
In the nurture and in the admonition of the Lord
Even those of us who are adults
We pray that You would help us, Lord
To further enter into
The expression of Your name
In the world in which we live
By the life that we live
By the way that we speak
By our very own thoughts, O Lord
Remember tonight all the gatherings of Your people
And we pray for them as they meet together as we do
And as they have met throughout the world
On this day, the Lord's day
We thank You for the value
That we place upon Your day
For the way You have taught us, O Lord
To regard this day in itself as significant
And for the way that we recognize
That You set it aside from the very creation
To be a day that was different
To the other days of each week
And we thank You for the opportunities we have in it
To know You
And to increase our knowledge of You
And our fellowship with one another
Blessed to us, we pray, all the advantages we have
In a Lord's day that comes about
So regularly, week by week
And we thank You, gracious one
For all that Your day represents to Your people
And for the way that we come to associate it
With Your own resurrection from the dead
For the way that we also see in it
An anticipation of the eternal rest
That You have provided for Your people
That awaits them in heaven
And we ask tonight anew
As we come to give our mind
To the great subject of resurrection
And as we look towards that coming of the Lord
And the resurrection of His people
To be raised, to share with Him
And to be with Him
In that glory that is promised
We pray, O Lord
That You would strengthen our faith
And give us to resist, we pray
The many temptations we find in the world
To disbelieve these things
Give us, Lord, in the midst of all the
Different species of thought that we come across
That are contrary to Your Word
That we may hold fast to Your own revealed Word
That we may leave all its promises
All its warnings, all its threatenings
All the passages that come to comfort us, O Lord
All the ones also that stir us up to remembrance
Of the tremendous and stupendous fact
Of Your judgment
We ask, O Lord, that we may be
All the more made wise unto salvation
Bless, we pray, all the families belonging to us
As a congregation tonight
We ask that in all our homes
We may know Your blessing
We pray that You would grant to us, O Lord
Your own guidance and Your own favor
In all that we seek to do
We pray for those tonight
Who cannot be here physically
We pray for them, Lord
And especially those of them who are ill
We pray for those in hospital
And we pray for grace for them
For the recovery
And we give thanks, Lord
For the news that we hear
From time to time
Of those who have been ill
And those not only long-term ill
But also those who more recently
Were laid aside
And sometimes unexpectedly
And sometimes suddenly
O Lord, bless them all
We pray and bless their family
And we give thanks again tonight
For the measure of recovery
For William Graham
We pray that You would hear our prayers
For him again
And for Mordech
And for their family, James
And Damien
We pray that his progress
Will continue
We give thanks to You, O Lord
For the safe delivery
Of Donnie and Teane's grandchild
Even though it is such an early time
In her mother's pregnancy
We thank You for our safe delivery
We pray for her
And we pray that You would bless our Lord
As the days go by
And we pray that You would bless
Kian and Alistair
At this time as they celebrate
Once again a child given of the Lord
And continue to bless them, O Lord
During this time
We pray for those who mourn
Who continue to miss loved ones
Again, Lord, we ask that You would
Console and comfort their hearts
And we do commend them to You once again
Whether it be recent bereavement
Or times in the past
Lord, we know that bereavement
Continues to be a painful experience for us
But we thank You for the way
In which Your own comfort
Is extended to us
Through Your Spirit
We ask, O Lord
That we may now continue
To wait upon You
As we further our worship service here
Bless us, we pray
Throughout the week
That we've entered upon
Bless us as we anticipate, Lord
The coronation of King Charles
Later in this week
We pray for him
As You require us to do in Your Word
We pray for himself
And we pray for his spouse, Camilla
Bless them, Lord, we pray
At this important juncture
Not only in their own lives
But in the life of the nation
And help us, Lord, we pray
To bear them before You
And we pray that he will come
To be an influence for good
Especially for Your own cause
For the advance of Your kingdom
That he will not be drawn aside
To substitute the Lord
With any other alternative
To the Lord Jesus Christ
As His King and His God
And grant him, Lord, Your blessing
As he awaits this important day
And so go before us now
We pray and bless all
Who are in government over us
In all parts of the land
Lord, in these difficult, tumultuous days
We pray for Your guidance
We pray for Your mercy
We pray for Your forgiveness
For our many sins
And the many ways
In which we have departed
From Your ways
Return us, Lord, we pray
How long?
How long will it be
Before we come
Once again as a nation
To be characterized
By a love for Your truth
Lord, hasten the day, we pray
And come and hear
The prayers of Your people
As You hear them
Come and answer
And do so, Lord
In a way that would
Exceed our very expectation
We pray all with the pardon
Of our sin
In Jesus' name
Amen
Let's sing again to God's praise
In Psalm 90 this time
Psalm number 90
That's in the Scottish Psalter
Page 350
Singing verses 13 to 17
The tune this time is Morvan
Turn yet again to us, O Lord
How long thus shall it be
Let it repent Thee now
For those that servants are to Thee
O with Thy tender mercies, Lord
As early satisfy
So we rejoice shall all our days
And still be glad in Thee
These verses 13 to the end of the Psalm
To God's praise
Turn yet again to us, O Lord
How long thou shall it be
Let it repent Thee now
For those that servants are to Thee
O with Thy tender mercies, Lord
As early satisfy
So we rejoice shall all our days
And still be glad in Thee
According to us Thee
Thee days have been Wherein we grief have had
And years wherein we ill have had
So do thou make us cry
O let thy work and part
And shall our days
And still be glad in thee
We hope that we grief have had
And still be glad in thee
So do thou make us cry
And shall ourgens
before, and show unto their children dear thy glory evermore.
And let the beauty of the Lord our God be us upon,
our handy words establish love, establish them each one.
Now we're reading two passages of God's Word this evening.
Firstly, it's from the prophecy of Isaiah, chapter 25.
And we'll read the first 12 verses, or the whole chapter really, the 12 verses.
And also 1 Corinthians 15, a few verses there which we'll turn to look at later in the service.
First of all, Isaiah 25, reading from the beginning.
O Lord, you are my God, I will exalt you, I will praise your name,
for you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful, and sure.
For you have made the city a heap, the fortified city a ruin.
The foreigner's palace is a city no more.
It will never be rebuilt.
Therefore strong peoples will glorify you.
Cities of ruthless nations will fear you.
For you have been a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress,
a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat.
For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm against a wall,
like heat in a dry place.
You subdue the noise of the foreigners as heat by the shade of a cloud.
So the song of the ruthless is put down.
On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food,
a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.
And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples,
the veil that is spread over all nations.
He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces,
and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth.
For the Lord has spoken.
It will be said on that day, Behold, this is our God.
We have waited for him that he might save us.
This is the Lord.
We have waited for him.
Let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.
For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain,
and Moab shall be trampled down in his place,
as straw is trampled down in a dunghill.
And he will spread out his hands in the midst of it,
as a swimmer spreads his hands out to swim.
But the Lord will lay low his pompous pride,
together with the skill of his hands.
And the high fortifications of his walls he will bring down,
lay low, and cast to the ground to the dust.
We turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 15.
We'll read verses 50 to 58.
I tell you, this brother's flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God,
nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
Behold, I tell you a mystery.
We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.
For the trumpet will sound,
and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.
For this perishable body must put on the imperishable,
and this mortal body must put on immortality.
When the perishable puts on the imperishable,
and the mortal puts on immortality,
then shall come to pass the saying that is written,
Death is swallowed up in victory.
O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?
The sting of death is sin,
and the power of sin is the law.
But thanks be to God,
who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, my beloved brothers,
be steadfast, immovable,
always abounding in the work of the Lord,
knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
We pray God will follow with his blessing,
that reading from his word.
Let's sing once again before we come back to 1 Corinthians 15.
This time it's Psalm 72.
Psalm 72 from St. Psalms, page 92,
verses 1 to 9.
The tune this time is Duke Street.
Endow the King with justice, Lord,
the royal Son with righteousness.
Your people, your afflicted ones,
he'll judge with truth and uprightness.
The mountains will bring peace to them,
the hills the fruit of righteousness.
He will defend and save the poor,
and crush all those who them oppress.
And so on, down as far as verse 9,
Psalm 72.
Endow the King with justice, Lord.
The royal Son with righteousness.
He'll judge with truth and uprightness.
The mountains will bring peace to them,
The hills, the fruit of righteousness
He will defend and save the poor
And crush all those who then will rest
As long as sun and moon endure
So will he live time without end
He'll be like showers on the air
Like reaps that on moon fields descend
The righteous then will blossom forth
Through earth is ever-lasting green
Until the moon no longer shines
Peace in abundance will remain
From sea to sea he will hold sway
And from the river to earth's end
His enemies will lead the dust
And deserts rise, the knee will end
Well, let's turn once more to 1 Corinthians 15
The passage we read from verse 50
And tonight we're going to consider these verses
Down as far as verse 57
So that will leave us, God willing, one further study
In this great chapter
Dealing with the resurrection
When we come next time, God willing, to look at verse 58
Which really sums up and concludes
Paul's treatment of the resurrection
As a significant application of it
As you find in verse 58
So from verse 50, as we've read it through
He's dealing here again with the resurrection
But giving us some more details
In addition to what we saw earlier
Throughout the chapter
Now one thing you notice here is very obvious
And that he's talking here to brothers
He's, of course, addressing the church in Corinth
But all the way through here
He's really dealing with the resurrection of the Lord's people
And that's in keeping with what you find
Mostly throughout Scripture
Scripture has very little, actually, to do with
The resurrection of the unsaved
Because the overwhelming emphasis in the Bible
Is on salvation
On redemption from sin and from death
As this passage itself is going to bring us through this evening
And the emphasis on life and salvation
Means that that's really what predominates
That's what really gets the major part of Paul's treatment
Throughout this chapter, indeed
There is, of course, going to be a resurrection of the unsaved as well
But it will be very different to the resurrection
Not in kind, but in result
To the resurrection of God's redeemed and saved people
Jesus himself referred to that
In chapter 5 of John's Gospel
And at verse 29 there, 28-29
He says, where he taught
That God the Father has given the Son authority to execute judgment
Because He is the Son of Man
Do not marvel at this
For an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear His voice
And come out
Those who have done good to the resurrection of life
And those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment
Or to the resurrection of condemnation
Which also is the meaning of the word there
So that's giving us a very definite truth
That God will bring all from the grave
Whoever they are
Whenever they have lived
All shall come out of the graves
Of the voice of the Son of God
And you put that into line with the emphasis
In this chapter of the coming of Christ Himself
1 Thessalonians 4 and other similar passages
And so there is a resurrection of the unjust
A resurrection of the unsaved as well
We're not going to deal with that tonight
It's part of the message of Scripture
But as we say, the overwhelming emphasis
Is on the resurrection of the saved
Of God's people
Why is that?
Well, for one, that's what God has given the most emphasis to
In His revelation of Himself to us
He's not a God who's willing that any should die
That any should perish
But that all should come to repentance
It's so that we'll come to see
Our need of Jesus
Our need of the salvation that's in Him
Our need of the victory over sin and death
That He has brought about and accomplished
Through His own death and resurrection from the dead
That's why you find this overwhelming emphasis in Scripture
In God's revelation of salvation to us
So that we'll come to the Jesus
Who took our damnation to Himself
Who took to Himself the death that we deserved for our sins
And who therefore is presented to us as such
As the Savior of His people
And tonight as we go through this passage
I trust that you and I will put to ourselves
Once again, our need of the Savior
Even if you're saved
Even if you've been saved for many years
I hope that through this passage tonight
We will all come to an appreciation
Of the greatness of Christ
Of our need of Christ
Of the wonder of life in Him
For people who don't deserve it
Such as we all are
And that will come
If we're not yet in Christ
To really consider
Even before we leave this place tonight
That this is where you need to be found
That this is where you want to be found
That this is your concern
And this is your desire
To be found in Christ
Not having a righteousness of your own
So that you'll be like the apostle
In his testimony in Philippians 3
If by any means, he says
I would attain to the resurrection of the dead
Tonight that's surely your desire
My desire
That you will be part of those blessed ones
Who will come to be raised at the coming of Christ
To meet Him
Triumphing in His salvation
And not cringing before His condemnation
Two things I want to look at
First of all, the necessity
Of a great change
As the passage brings it out for us
The necessity of a great change
Verses 50 to 52
Where he says
Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God
Nor does the perishable inherit imperishable
And then secondly
We'll look at the features of this great change
That God will bring about
In the resurrection of His people
Well, you'll find that in verses 53
Down to verse 57
So the necessity of a great change
The change that will take place
At the resurrection
The change especially in our bodily condition
And secondly
The features of that great change
What does it consist of?
What is going to happen?
And of course we do acknowledge
That while we're following the words of Scripture there
There are still many aspects of this truth
That really elude us
And are beyond our capacity
To put into such words
If you like as they deserve
The necessity of a great change
Well, look at what he says in verse 50
I tell you this, brothers
Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God
Nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable
Now what does he mean by
Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God?
Well, by flesh and blood
He's certainly still focusing on the body
But it also includes our present bodily existence
In this world
Even for us as Christians
This present state of things
This body in the present state of things
Even though we are saved in Christ
As we are as such prior to death
We cannot inherit the kingdom of God
The body we presently have
The bodily life we presently live
The body in which we live this life
Is not itself capable of sustaining the fullness of life
That is going to be the portion of God's people at the resurrection
So flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God
And you can see it's expanded where he says
Nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable
He used these words earlier, you recall as well
The perishable that's raised in verse 42 there
To be imperishable
What he means by that is
The body that we require to inhabit glory, if you like
The life that we will have in glory
This bodily life
It will still be a life in the body spiritually
Going back to previous studies
But what he's saying now is that
We need a body that is above the reach of decay
The body we have just now is going to decay
It's decaying already
It's proceeding day by day towards returning to the dust
And we cannot inherit the kingdom of God
Therefore in that body it's perishable
The perishable does not inherit the imperishable
The necessity of resurrection
The necessity of a great change
Because what he's anticipating here as we'll go on in the study
Is a life and a body in that life
As well as our soul
Remember that God has redeemed us as persons
As living human beings
And that means our body as well
As our soul incorporated in the redemption that is in Christ
Is not going to leave our bodies out of that salvation
Is not going to have salvation that is just purely spirit only
Or soul only
He has redeemed our persons
Body and soul together
And while the body returns to the dust
And the soul goes
To be with God in heaven for God's people
In anticipation of this day
When the imperishable
Will characterize the body that's raised
From the dead
We need to have
A body that's set above
The reach of death
The reach of decay
In other words
A body that is suitable
And qualified
Under God
For the fullness of life
That heaven will be
The fullness of life
That Christ has purchased
For the perishable
Cannot inherit the imperishable
Nor does flesh and blood
Inherit the kingdom of God
And he goes on
From verse 51
And 52
To expand on that somewhat
Behold I tell you a mystery
We shall not all sleep
But we shall all be changed
In a moment
In the twinkling of an eye
At the last trumpet
For the trumpet will sound
And the dead will be raised
Imperishable
And we shall be changed
For this perishable body
Must put on the imperishable
And this mortal body
Must put on immortality
We shall not all sleep
But we shall all be changed
What is that setting before us?
Well it means really that
When the Lord returns
There will still be people
And those of his own people
Living in this world
That have not died
Whose bodies have not
Returned to the dust
In the grave
We shall not all sleep
Is what he means by that
But we shall all be changed
In a moment
In the twinkling of an eye
In other words
He's saying
The kind of change
That takes place
In the resurrection
Of the bodies of God's people
Will take place
In the bodies
Of those who are still living
When the Lord returns
Because they are still
Perishable
And subject to death
They need a different
Kind of body
Set above death
And that's going to happen
When the Lord returns
Even for those
Who have not died
And their bodies
Return to the dust
In the grave
They shall be changed
We shall all be changed
We all need to have
That change
By which we come
To inherit bodily
The kingdom of God
And you see what he's saying
About it
It will happen
In a moment
In the twinkling of an eye
At the last trumpet
So from that
You and I cannot say tonight
I've got plenty of time yet
I'm still relatively young
I can just relax
And take my time
And when I get nearer
To my old age
Then I'll be able to
Seriously deal with
The issues of eternity
No he's saying
The Lord is coming
And we shall be changed
In an instant
It's going to take place
In the twinkling of an eye
There's change in our bodies
In a moment
In the twinkling of an eye
At the last trumpet
How long does it take
For you to flick your eyelid
To blink your eyes
Well he's saying
That's how quickly
The change is going to come
When the Lord returns
By his power
That's going to be
Effected immediately
We shall all be changed
In a moment
In the twinkling of an eye
For he says
The trumpet
Will sound
And the dead
Will be raised
Imperishable
And we shall be changed
The trumpet
Will sound
That's an interesting phrase
Isn't it
And there are two
Places in scripture
Where this kind of
Emphasis on the trumpet
Being sounded
Is before us
In the word of God
First is at
Mount Sinai
Where there was
An incredibly loud
Blast
Of trumpet
Over which
Moses himself
Says
As you read the
Account in Hebrews 12
I exceedingly
Fear and quake
Moses was a man
Who was so near
To God
That he spoke with him
Face to face
There was nobody
On earth
That was
At that time
At least as near
To God
As familiar with God
And knew the tremendous
Majesty and greatness
Of God
The way Moses did
And yet it's said
Of him there
That this trumpet blast
On Mount Sinai
Which signaled
The arrival of the Lord
Coming onto the mountain
To set it on fire
By his presence
Gave Moses himself
To fear
And to quake
It was such a tremendous
Loud blast
You see this blast
Of the trumpet
It's not
It's an unearthly trumpet
If you like
It's not somebody
Taking a normal
Musical instrument
Or even a hundred
Of these musical
Instruments trumpets
This is a supernatural
Trumpet
This is something
That comes from heaven
This is an unearthly
Trumpet sound
That awakens the dead
That comes to announce
The arrival of the king
I'm sure
God willing
On Saturday
There will be something
Similar to that
In human terms
Very often the case
When the queen
The late queen
Was arriving at parliament
Or wherever
And this time
For the coronation
There will be a fanfare
I'm sure
To announce
That the king
Is here
To announce
That this is the moment
This is the moment
The large crowd
In anticipation
Of the king's coronation
Gathered there
This is the moment
They've been looking forward to
This is the moment
The moment has now come
The trumpet blast
The fanfare announces
This is it
He's here
And it'll be that way
At the end of the world
It'll be that way
At the end of the age
At the coming of Christ
At the resurrection
Of the dead
For the trumpet
Will sound
And the dead
Will be raised
Imperishable
The other place
You find it mentioned
The sound of the trumpet
Is in Revelation
Chapter 20
Sorry
1 Thessalonians chapter 4
Verses 15 to 16
You remember
That's dealing with
The resurrection as well
1 Thessalonians 4
Verses 15 to 16
Where you find
The Lord himself
He says
We declare that
Those who are alive
Who are left
Till the coming of the Lord
Will not precede
Those who have fallen asleep
For the Lord himself
Will descend from heaven
With a cry of command
With a voice of an archangel
And with the sound
Of the trumpet of God
And the dead in Christ
Will rise first
Then we who are alive
Will be caught up together
With them in the clouds
To meet the Lord
In the air
Therefore
So we will always be
With the Lord
It's the same emphasis there
That when the Lord comes
There will be this
Almighty
Unearthly
Supernatural sound
That will announce
His arrival
The fanfare of heaven
It will come
And announce to the world
The King is here
The Lord is here
God has come
And He's come to judge the earth
And He's come to
Bring His people home
And He's come to
Deal with all
Who have ever lived
As Revelation chapter 20
Puts it
The great white throne
Before whom all
Will be arraigned
And before whom all
Will be judged
And it's announcing
As it announces
The King's arrival
As you read there
In 1 Thessalonians 4
It's more than just
The announcement
Of His arrival
It's also
It's also a summons
To us
To take note
Of what's happening
To come and meet
The King
The trumpet that announces
His arrival
Is the trumpet
That says to us
You are required
Now to meet Him
You are required
To listen
You are required
To give
Your greatest attention
To what's happened
Because it's the King
Who's arrived
It's a time for
Concentration
As never before
Because we shall be
All arranged before Him
To be judged by Him
According to what we have done
Whether good
Or evil
What a great day
That's going to be
Friends
What a wonderful
Fulfillment
Of the hope
Of God's people
What a wonderful
Climax and crowning
To their life
Of faith
In this world
To their expectation
Of resurrection
To be with Jesus
Forevermore
To gather with
God's people
In heaven
And to be there
Without interruption
Forevermore
With this perishable
Having put on
The imperishable
And this mortal
Having put on
The immortal
And that's what
He's saying to us tonight
It's this wonderful
Anticipation
Of this great day
How are you preparing
For it?
How am I preparing
For it?
When there's
An inevitability
About it
When there's
A certainty
About it
Are we preparing
To meet
Our king?
This is not
Going to be like
The coronation
We're anticipating
This week
However grand
That may be
However significant
That may be
For many people
This is for the
Whole of humanity
And especially
So for God's
Redeemed people
The moment
They've anticipated
The moment
Indeed
That the world
Has been waiting
For the world
Of God's people
In it
Especially
Has been waiting
For from the moment
People began
To fear the Lord
The day of the Lord
Presented in God's
Revelation of himself
As the pinnacle
Really of history
The pinnacle of redemption
For God's people
Here we are tonight
We have
A privilege
That's
Not the lot
Of many people
In the world
In the day
In which we live
The privilege
Of knowing
This truth
From the gospel
The privilege
Of being called
To anticipate
The coming of the king
The privilege
Of knowing
That we have
To have our trust
In him
That we need
To love him
That we need
To fall down
In obedience
To him
In this life
So that we will
Welcome him
When he comes
What a great privilege
God has given you
That he's revealed
This to you
As something
That is
Required of us
And that it's
A privilege of us
To enter into
A life of faith
And trust
And love
And hope
In the Lord
Jesus Christ
Is that where you are
With your life
So far
Is that where
Your hope
Is anchored
Is that how
You're preparing
Not just
For your death
But how you're
Preparing
For the coming
Of the king
For the realization
That the Lord
Is on his way
And the trumpet
Will sound
And the dead
Will be raised
And we shall
All be gathered
In his presence
Well he's saying here
That that's
What's going to happen
So the features
Then of that
Great change
Next
We can see
Moving from
The necessity
Of it
The necessity
Being that
We cannot
Inherit
The kingdom
Of God
Without this
Change
In the resurrection
Of the saved
When he says here
For this perishable
Must put on
The imperishable
And this mortal
Body must put on
Immortality
Then when the
Perishable
Puts on the
Imperishable
And the mortal
Puts on immortality
Then shall be
Brought to pass
The saying
That is written
Death is swallowed
Up in victory
O death
Where is your victory
O death
Where is your sting
Quoting from
Isaiah 25
And also some
Verses you find
In Hosea chapter 13
Combining them there
Really together
For this imperishable
Must put on
The imperishable
And this mortal
Must put on
Immortality
We've alluded to that
But you see
The must
Is there again
Emphasized
It must be the case
We cannot inherit
The kingdom of God
Without this change
But then
When this happens
Then shall be brought
To pass the saying
That is written
Death is swallowed
Up in victory
And that word
Then is important
Because here is
A prophecy
That for thousands
Of years
Has been lying
Waiting for it
To be fulfilled
The prophecy
That the Lord
Gave through Isaiah
To the people
In chapter 25
As we have it
Of his prophecy
A prophecy
Waiting for fulfillment
For the day
Of its accomplishment
And it's
The accomplishment
Of it
At the coming
Of Christ
Then shall be brought
To pass the saying
That is written
This is not fulfilled
Once you leave this world
As a Christian
And in your soul
Enter into glory
That's only part
Of what is awaiting
The Lord's people
This actually awaits
The raising of your body
So as to be with your soul
Reunited to enter glory
Forevermore
Then shall be brought
To pass the saying
That is written
Death is swallowed up
In victory
Now in principle
That's been accomplished
By Jesus
Of course
In his own resurrection
From the dead
But as far as
God's people are concerned
It's still awaiting
In the future
To be fulfilled
When they are raised
From the dead
To be with Christ
Forever
Because that's going to mean
Neither decay
Nor death
Shall ever again invade
Their human experience
Their human life
They're set above it
They're imperishable
They're immortal
Death has no longer
Any possibility
Of invading
What they are
As raised
Saved people in Christ
What a great prospect
That is
And here is
Paul saying
That
This
For he says
The sting of death
Is sin
The power of sin
Is the law
Thanks be to God
Who gives us the victory
Through our Lord Jesus Christ
He's saying here
The sting of death
Is sin
If you think of a scorpion
Which seems to be
The imagery there
Scorpion that bears
This poisonous
Deadly sting
In its tail
Well death
Has its sting
In sin
Sin is the sting
Of death
Sin is
Here
Gives
Death
Is what gives death
Its sting
And here's
Here's the amazing thing
That this sting
Has already
Entered into
Jesus Christ
Himself
He came into this world
To die
And he came into this world
To die
The death
That we deserved
He came into this world
To die
The wages
Of sin
The death
That is
Not just
Physical death
But also death
Spiritual
Death
In separation
From God
Death
As the great
Penalty of sin
That God
Has laid upon us
In our condemnation
That is why
Jesus came into the world
He came to live
A perfect life
But to die
This atoning death
Sting of death
Entered into himself
But not in a way
That defeated him
It's the other way about
Death has been defeated
By the death
He died
Fulfilling the demands
Of the law
The requirement
Of God
And then
Followed by a resurrection
His resurrection
From the dead
You know that when
Not every species
Of bee
Has this
But the honeybee
Has a sting
With a little hook
At the end
Of the sting
Which protrudes
From the rear
Of its body
And when the honeybee
Stings
Into flesh
Of any kind
Because that
Sting is
Barbed
It's got a hook
He can't pull it out
Again
The bee
Cannot pull it out
Again
Without destroying
Itself
And
Have you ever seen
Such a thing
As the body
Of the bee
Is torn apart
The little
Sack
The end of its body
With the sting
Attached
Continues
To be attached
To
Wherever this thing
Has entered
And it keeps on
Pumping the venom
Even after the bee
Has been torn apart
And very soon
Dies after that
Well think of that
As an illustration
Here is sin
Here is the devil
Indeed
Using his sin
As a weapon
Using sin
As a weapon
Here is the sin
That is proper
To you
And to me
As sinners
Here is Jesus
The son of God
Come into the
World
In order to take
The sting
Of death
To himself
The sin
For which we are
Rightly condemned
But it's destroyed
The moment it enters
Into Christ
Because he has died
The death
We could not die
He had died
He died
Victorious
Let me remind you
Of a wonderful passage
In Hebrews
Chapter 2
Where you find
The writer there
Talking about
The coming
The death
Of Christ
And especially
Himself
Taking out
Human nature
He says
He took
He took this
To himself
That through
Death
He might destroy
The one
Who has the power
Of death
That is the devil
And delivered
All those
Who through fear
Of death
Were subject
To lifelong
To life
Talks then
About being made
Like unto his
Brothers
In every respect
Taking our human
Nature to himself
But confine it
To what he says
There
That through
Death
Through his own
Death
He might destroy
Him
Who has the power
Of death
That is the devil
Not only did Jesus
Deal with sin
And overcome sin
And remove the sting
Of sin
From the death
Of his people
He has also
Come to
Destroy the devil's
Authority
And ultimately
Himself
And his condemnation
Forever
You see
It's all in the cross
It's all in the
Resurrection of Christ
Following his
Death
The death he died
And that's what
Lies behind
That's what's
Foundational
To the Lord's
People
In their resurrection
Where the perishable
Puts on the
Imperishable
Where the mortal
Puts on immortality
Then it shall
Come to pass
Death
Is swallowed up
In victory
The Lord
Has taken the
Sting
Himself
Out of death
And when you
Die as a Christian
That sting's
Not going to
Touch you
The poison of
Sin has been
Removed
It's not going
To be in any
Way
Capable of
Invading
Your life
Anymore
Oh death
Where is
Your victory
He adds
Oh death
Where is
Your sting
As if Paul
Is turning
Around and
In a way
Of personifying
Death
As if it
Was just
A real
Person that
He's talking
To
That had
This ascendancy
Over human
Beings
He's now
Saying
Oh death
Where is
Your victory
Now
Oh grave
Oh death
Where is
Your sting
Now
Now that
The Lord
Has done
What he
Has done
Now that
God has
Swallowed up
Death
In victory
Now that
Jesus
Has died
Now that
He's taken
That sting
To himself
Where is
Your victory
Where is
Your triumph
Where is
Your sting
It's gone
You don't
Have it
Anymore
What a
Celebration
What a
Cause of
Celebration
The wages
Of sin
Is death
The sting
Of death
Is sin
Christ has
Dealt with it
And when you
Come to
Trust in him
His triumph
Becomes
Your triumph
His victory
Becomes
Your victory
His ascendancy
Over death
Becomes
Your ascendancy
His taking
The sting
Out of death
Means it's
As if you
Have done
It yourself
Through faith
In him
That's what's
True of you
Thanks be to
God who gives
Us the victory
Through our
Lord Jesus
Christ
The resurrection
Is future
But the
Victory
Is assured
Whatever
Lies between
Now and the
Return of
Christ
In the
History of
The world
The foundation
Has been
Laid
The principle
Of victory
Has been
Won
Isn't that
Something
Tonight
That you
Yourself
Can celebrate
Isn't it
Something really
That the world
Ought to be
Longing for
The accomplishment
Of it
At his return
Then shall
Be brought
To death
The saying
That is written
Death is
Swallowed up
In victory
Don't you
Actually feel
That sense
Of expectation
Even of
Triumph
As you
Anticipate
That for
Yourself
That this
Is something
Really
That belongs
To your
Life
And to
Your hope
And to
Your
Expectation
That that
Day is
Coming for
You as
Well
Through
Your faith
In Christ
Through
The victory
Of Christ
That he's
Achieved
For you
When you
Can actually
Say
Looking down
Upon death
As you
Are raised
Above it
In the
Resurrection
When you
Can say
Where now
Is your
Victory
Grave
I've left
It behind
It's no
Longer
There
It's no
Longer
Relevant
My Lord
Has triumphed
And I've
Triumphed
In him
Thanks be
To God
Who gives
Us the
Victory
Through our
Lord Jesus
Christ
You know
There's a
Great book
A Scottish
Theological
Classic
Called
The 4-4
State
By Thomas
Boston
It's really
Called human
Nature
In its
Fourfold
State
He deals
With the
State
Before the
Fall
The state
Of sin
The state
Of grace
And the state
Of glory
The fourfold
State
Of human
Beings
And in
That book
Page 384
I've got
Noted here
Boston
Imagines
The souls
Of God's
Saved
People
Being
Reunited
With their
Bodies
That had
Been
Long
In the
Grave
And
Reunited
In the
Resurrection
With their
Souls
And Boston
Imagines
The souls
Speaking
To the
Body
And
Saying
This
Arise
Then my
Body
And come
Away
Let these
Eyes
Which used
To weep
Over my
Sins
Behold
With joy
The face
Of our
Glorious
Redeemer
Let these
Ears
Which used
To hear
The word
Of life
In the
Temple
Below
Come
And hear
The hallelujahs
In the
Temple
Above
Let these
Feet
That carried
Me
In the
Congregation
Of saints
On earth
Take their
Place among
Those in
Heaven
And let
This tongue
Which confessed
Christ
Before men
Join
The choir
Of the
Upper
House
In his
Praises
Forevermore
And he
goes on
Imagining the
Soul speaking
To the
Body
You will
Fast no
More
But keep
An everlasting
Feast
You will
Weep no
More
Neither
Shall your
Countenance
Be over
Clouded
But you
Will shine
Forever
As a
Star in
The firmament
And then the
Soul says to
The redeemed
Body
The resurrected
Body
We took
Part together
In the
Fight
Come
Let us
Go together
To receive
And wear
The crown
This
Perishable
Must put
On the
Imperishable
And when
This perishable
Puts on the
Imperishable
And this
Mortal
Shall have
Put on
Immortality
Then
Shall come
To pass
The saying
That is
Written
Death
Is swallowed
Up
In victory
What a
Great
Thing
Faith
Is
That as
It joins
You to
Christ
That victory
Becomes
Yours
But what a
Great
Saviour
Christ
Is
That he
Has done
All that
For his
People
Let's pray
Oh Lord
Our
Gracious
God
How
Grateful
Tonight
We should
Be to
You
That you
Have
Already
Accomplished
Victory
Through your
Own
Resurrection
From the
Dead
That your
Promise
Of glory
For your
People
Is as
Real as
Their
Presence
On earth
Is to
Themselves
We bless
You tonight
For that
Victory
Lord we
Pray that
Each of
Us here
Who know
The gospel
So well
Who have
Come to
Look at
This great
Passage
This evening
Lord we
Pray that
It may be
True for
Each one
Of us
Too
That we
Shall
Put on
The
Imperishable
And that
This mortal
Will put
On immortality
And that
We will
Participate
In that
Great
Hallelujah
When the
Lord returns
Of a
Celebration
With his
People
Of his
Victory
And theirs
Over sin
And over
Death
Hear us
We pray
For Jesus
Sake
Amen
We're
Going to
Sing
In conclusion
From
Psalm 116
That's in
St.
Psalms
Page 154
And we'll sing
Verses 12
To 19
The tune is
Even
Tied
How can I
Thank the
Lord for
All he's
Done
With
Gratitude
Salvation's
Cup
I'll
Raise
I'll
Call upon
His
Name
And will
Fulfill
My
Vows
To
Him
Before
His
People's
Face
The
Lord
Holds
Dear
The
Death
Of
All
His
Saints
Hear
Me
O
Lord
I
Am
Your
Servant
True
I'm
Your
Servant
And
Your
Handmaid
Son
And
From
My
Chains
I
Have
Been
Freed
By
You
To
The
End
Of
The
Psalm
How
Can
I
Thank
The
Lord
For
All he's
Done
How
Can
I
Thank
The
Lord
For
All he's
Done
With
Gratitude
Salvation
He
Sing
I
Call
His
Name
And
Will
For
Feel
Into
His
Name
Will
S
The
Lord
Hold
Dear
The death of all his sins
Hear me, O Lord
I am your servant true
I am your servant
And your handmaid son
And from my chains
I have been freed by you
Thank, O friends
I will sacrifice to you
And call upon
The name of God the Lord
When all his people
In assembly meet
With joy I will fulfill my solemn word
Before his people
I will keep my birth
Within the court of our God's holy place
Within the city of Jerusalem
And to the Lord alone
He all have raised
I'll go to the side door to my left here after the benediction
And now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ
The love of God the Father
And the communion of the Holy Spirit
Be with you now and evermore
Amen
Know
I will be speaking the Lord
Ephesians
Will you come to Groß
게 with you
Barbara
I am so glad
You should have kept
You can hear me
I heard you
Be and I am so glad
I am so glad
You have why
You have to welcome
I am so glad
You are thank
I am so glad
You are thank
You are komma
I am so glad
You are hail
I am so glad
You are elevation
I am so glad
You are as stone
You are landmark
I am so glad