WEBVTT 00:00:02.479 --> 00:00:08.560 God, we bow before you, our Father, our Savior, our King, our Creator, our Friend. 00:00:08.720 --> 00:00:16.160 We come to you in the name of Jesus crucified on the cross and raised from the dead and coming again. 00:00:17.199 --> 00:00:19.440 God, this morning we we trust you. 00:00:19.519 --> 00:00:20.879 We're here to meet with you. 00:00:21.039 --> 00:00:29.600 I ask that you would meet with us and speak to us and encourage our hearts and help us believe more and help us love more and help us serve more. 00:00:30.320 --> 00:00:37.200 And I pray that we would receive everything from your word this morning, and we would receive it by faith. 00:00:37.439 --> 00:00:40.560 And we declare we will receive it in Jesus' name. 00:00:40.719 --> 00:00:43.280 And all God's people say, Amen. 00:00:43.439 --> 00:00:44.240 You can't be seated. 00:00:44.320 --> 00:00:45.600 Welcome again to Family Church. 00:00:45.759 --> 00:00:46.719 I'm glad all of you are here. 00:00:46.799 --> 00:00:47.920 My name is Jimmy Scroggins. 00:00:48.000 --> 00:00:48.960 I'm one of the pastors. 00:00:49.039 --> 00:00:54.000 And every Sunday at Family Church we have a Bible study, and we're going to have our Bible study right now. 00:00:54.079 --> 00:00:56.240 So go ahead and get your Bibles out. 00:00:56.479 --> 00:00:59.119 Turn your Bibles on on your devices. 00:00:59.280 --> 00:01:05.599 Grab a Bible from the pew in front of you and open up to the book of First Corinthians, chapter 15. 00:01:05.840 --> 00:01:08.640 First Corinthians, chapter 15. 00:01:08.879 --> 00:01:13.760 We're going through a five-week teaching series on the Apostles' Creed. 00:01:13.840 --> 00:01:20.239 And this is the final message in those five weeks of teaching. 00:01:20.480 --> 00:01:24.319 And it's just so great to be with you on a day like today. 00:01:24.480 --> 00:01:27.120 Where we're packed in here at 9:30. 00:01:27.280 --> 00:01:31.760 Most of you, if you came a little bit late, you didn't get to sit where you normally sat. 00:01:31.920 --> 00:01:33.680 Who had to move seats a little bit this morning? 00:01:33.760 --> 00:01:34.959 Some of you guys did, right? 00:01:35.120 --> 00:01:35.840 Sorry about that. 00:01:35.920 --> 00:01:37.200 We don't have safe seating. 00:01:37.280 --> 00:01:38.640 You got to get here and get it. 00:01:38.799 --> 00:01:42.400 And some of you guys are from PBA and you're brand new, and we're really welcome. 00:01:42.560 --> 00:01:43.840 We're glad that all of you guys are here. 00:01:43.920 --> 00:01:45.840 And some of you are checking out our church for the first time. 00:01:45.920 --> 00:01:55.120 And if that's you and you live in the area and you're thinking about finding a new church family, I would encourage you to lean into what's happening this morning because this is a beautiful, beautiful thing. 00:01:55.280 --> 00:02:06.879 These baptisms on the platform were so incredible this morning with Gabby and Tanner and Ryder and having moms and dads caring about their children here in the room with us. 00:02:06.959 --> 00:02:12.719 And Tanner's wife was telling me, man, we got a whole, we got a whole group of people over here to see him get baptized. 00:02:12.879 --> 00:02:18.879 And then all the people getting baptized on the screens from all of our different churches, the family churches around South Florida. 00:02:19.039 --> 00:02:21.599 What an incredible time together. 00:02:21.840 --> 00:02:26.560 But this morning we're going to talk about something that affects everybody. 00:02:27.360 --> 00:02:32.960 Yeah, I mean, I can preach about the Holy Spirit, and some of you be like, well, that's pretty good to know that, I guess. 00:02:33.120 --> 00:02:35.199 But I don't know what to do with that. 00:02:35.439 --> 00:02:38.240 And now last week we talked about the importance of the church. 00:02:38.319 --> 00:02:42.319 And you're like, yeah, I'm sure you're going to say that because you're promoting your thing. 00:02:42.879 --> 00:02:44.159 And I can talk about Jesus. 00:02:44.240 --> 00:02:47.840 You know, we already kind of believe in Jesus because we're Christians and this is a church. 00:02:48.080 --> 00:02:49.039 I get that. 00:02:49.520 --> 00:02:56.879 But this morning, what I want to talk to you about affects every single person here. 00:02:58.000 --> 00:03:01.680 People that you love, and it affects you personally. 00:03:02.000 --> 00:03:04.400 Because this morning I want to talk about heaven. 00:03:04.800 --> 00:03:06.479 I want to talk about heaven. 00:03:06.719 --> 00:03:09.280 I want to talk about what happens after you die. 00:03:11.599 --> 00:03:15.520 My grandmother, my dad's mom, and I were very close. 00:03:15.840 --> 00:03:20.560 She has 13 grandchildren and 40 great-grandchildren. 00:03:20.639 --> 00:03:23.439 And out of all of them, I'm her favorite. 00:03:26.400 --> 00:03:29.680 I spent a lot of time with my grandmother growing up. 00:03:30.240 --> 00:03:30.879 I loved her. 00:03:30.960 --> 00:03:33.840 When I was in college, I lived with her for part of that time. 00:03:34.240 --> 00:03:36.240 My grandmother lived a long life. 00:03:36.479 --> 00:03:39.199 She lived to 99 years old. 00:03:39.759 --> 00:03:42.400 She died back in 2017. 00:03:42.639 --> 00:03:47.840 That's a picture of her in the nursing home before she died. 00:03:48.159 --> 00:03:52.159 But my grandmother was and is a believer in Jesus. 00:03:52.400 --> 00:03:55.599 And that's why I know that when my grandmother died, she went to heaven. 00:03:55.840 --> 00:04:00.319 And one day I'm going to see her again, but right now I do miss her a lot from time to time. 00:04:00.560 --> 00:04:02.800 Just like I miss my other grandparents. 00:04:06.560 --> 00:04:12.400 And all of you have people that you miss that are not here because they've already gone to heaven. 00:04:13.039 --> 00:04:15.120 We're all going to face death. 00:04:15.599 --> 00:04:17.439 We're all going to deal with it. 00:04:17.759 --> 00:04:36.480 You might not think a lot about the Holy Spirit or God the Father Almighty, but from time to time in this life, you will think about death because you're going to go to a funeral, you're going to go to the doctor, you're going to have a near miss on the road, and you're going to think about your own mortality, and you're going to think about grief. 00:04:36.720 --> 00:04:37.759 And all of us do. 00:04:37.839 --> 00:04:38.800 So how do we do that? 00:04:38.879 --> 00:04:39.199 And St. 00:04:39.360 --> 00:04:42.480 Paul writes about that in 1 Corinthians chapter 15. 00:04:42.560 --> 00:04:51.839 And this is a place where the Bible gives us some really good encouragement, some really good instruction about what to believe and how to think about death. 00:04:52.000 --> 00:04:57.439 So here's what the Bible says: 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verse 50, and I'll read through verse 58. 00:04:57.600 --> 00:04:59.600 This is the word of God. 00:05:00.399 --> 00:05:00.639 St. 00:05:00.800 --> 00:05:14.879 Paul writes, I tell you this, brothers, flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 00:05:15.279 --> 00:05:17.600 Behold, I tell you a mystery. 00:05:23.680 --> 00:05:39.199 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. 00:05:39.759 --> 00:05:47.920 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 00:05:48.639 --> 00:05:59.920 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on the puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written. 00:06:00.319 --> 00:06:02.800 Death is swallowed up in victory. 00:06:03.040 --> 00:06:05.360 O death, where is your victory? 00:06:05.519 --> 00:06:08.240 O death, where is your sting? 00:06:08.480 --> 00:06:13.199 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 00:06:13.519 --> 00:06:20.399 But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:06:20.879 --> 00:06:35.680 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. 00:06:36.639 --> 00:06:39.360 And this is the word of God. 00:06:39.759 --> 00:06:42.240 And all God's people say, Amen. 00:06:42.399 --> 00:06:44.399 We received God's word at Family Church. 00:06:44.560 --> 00:06:45.839 This text of Scripture, St. 00:06:46.000 --> 00:06:56.399 Paul is writing from 2,000 years ago, the great apostle Paul, and he's giving us good instruction about what happens to believers in Jesus after we die. 00:06:56.800 --> 00:06:59.920 It tells us what happens when Jesus returns. 00:07:00.079 --> 00:07:02.000 It tells us about our future. 00:07:02.480 --> 00:07:16.560 Now, if you're a new Christian or you're thinking about becoming a Christian, you need to go ahead and acknowledge that Christians believe some very clear and very definite and kind of peculiar things about the future. 00:07:16.720 --> 00:07:29.199 In fact, in my mind, what we believe about the future, the second coming of Christ and heaven or is the weirdest thing of all the weird things that Christians believe that is taught in the Bible. 00:07:29.279 --> 00:07:37.759 But since the time of the apostles, Christians around the world have believed these things that are in this text. 00:07:37.920 --> 00:07:45.040 And the Apostles' Creed spotlights what we believe about death and what happens after we die. 00:07:45.199 --> 00:07:53.839 So we're going to recite the Apostles' Creed together, and we're going to pay attention to the lines about the second coming of Christ and what happens after we die. 00:07:53.920 --> 00:07:56.319 So let's all recite the Apostles' Creed out loud together. 00:07:56.399 --> 00:07:57.360 We'll put it on the screens. 00:07:57.519 --> 00:07:59.199 Here we go, church family. 00:07:59.519 --> 00:08:19.040 I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried. 00:08:19.279 --> 00:08:22.160 The third day he rose again from the dead. 00:08:22.480 --> 00:08:28.079 He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. 00:08:28.240 --> 00:08:32.080 From there he shall come to judge the living and the dead. 00:08:32.240 --> 00:08:44.559 I believe in the Holy Spirit, the universal church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. 00:08:44.879 --> 00:08:45.519 Amen. 00:08:45.919 --> 00:08:57.519 Now when you recite that out loud, like Christians do since the time of the apostles, you say you believe that Jesus Christ has ascended to heaven. 00:08:57.600 --> 00:09:01.039 He is now seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. 00:09:01.120 --> 00:09:06.720 You're saying that you believe one day He will return to judge the living and the dead. 00:09:06.879 --> 00:09:08.320 Now we might have some disagreements. 00:09:08.559 --> 00:09:13.919 We might see it as a mystery, as Paul said in the text, some of the details of how that's all going to unfold. 00:09:14.080 --> 00:09:18.159 But we all agree that in some way it is going to happen. 00:09:18.559 --> 00:09:29.840 And today we're focusing on the end of the creed, which says, I believe in the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. 00:09:30.000 --> 00:09:33.519 Well, what do we believe about the resurrection of the body? 00:09:33.600 --> 00:09:40.159 So if you have your program, this would be a good Sunday for you to start taking notes if you don't normally do it, but I hope you're in the habit of writing things down. 00:09:40.320 --> 00:09:42.480 We have a Bible study at Family Church. 00:09:42.559 --> 00:09:45.600 If you want to write some things down, what do we believe about the resurrection of the body? 00:09:45.759 --> 00:09:46.480 Here's what it is. 00:09:46.639 --> 00:09:48.799 Number one, you should see from this text. 00:09:49.039 --> 00:09:51.840 Number one, we see that death is inevitable. 00:09:52.159 --> 00:09:54.320 Death is inevitable. 00:09:54.559 --> 00:09:55.919 I just thought I would encourage you. 00:09:56.000 --> 00:09:56.960 Isn't that exciting, man? 00:09:57.039 --> 00:10:03.519 You come to church, we're packed in like sardines, you fought for your parking spot, you fought for your seat for me to say point. 00:10:03.600 --> 00:10:05.519 Number one, you're gonna die. 00:10:07.440 --> 00:10:08.480 We know we're gonna die. 00:10:08.639 --> 00:10:10.480 Look what he said in the text, verse 50. 00:10:10.639 --> 00:10:11.759 Flesh and blood, St. 00:10:11.919 --> 00:10:15.600 Paul says, cannot inherit the kingdom of God. 00:10:15.759 --> 00:10:22.559 That means things as they are in their present state, in my present sinful state, with my sin nature. 00:10:22.639 --> 00:10:25.200 And I'm living in this fallen world. 00:10:25.360 --> 00:10:38.080 I cannot live out the destiny that God created for me because I'm limited by my fallenness, my brokenness, and my sinfulness in my flesh and blood and in this world where I live. 00:10:38.240 --> 00:10:46.559 But he says in verse 51, he says, We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. 00:10:46.720 --> 00:10:47.919 We'll unpack that in just a minute. 00:10:48.000 --> 00:10:49.600 But death is a big deal. 00:10:49.919 --> 00:10:54.480 It's big business, it's something that we all have to deal with. 00:10:55.360 --> 00:10:58.960 And some of you are young and you're like, man, that's so far in the future. 00:10:59.039 --> 00:11:00.559 I don't want to think about that right now. 00:11:00.799 --> 00:11:02.080 And good for you. 00:11:03.440 --> 00:11:11.440 Here's what the statistics tell us for men in the United States, 76 is the average age of death. 00:11:11.919 --> 00:11:12.960 76 years old. 00:11:13.039 --> 00:11:16.399 Some of you are like, dude, I'm already, I'm living on free time right now, man. 00:11:16.480 --> 00:11:18.960 I'm I'm living, I'm living free free. 00:11:19.120 --> 00:11:19.679 All right. 00:11:20.080 --> 00:11:21.600 For women, it's 81. 00:11:21.759 --> 00:11:24.000 Why do women live five years longer than men? 00:11:24.240 --> 00:11:24.960 They're smarter. 00:11:25.120 --> 00:11:28.320 All right, so you you you can see why that would be. 00:11:29.679 --> 00:11:41.279 Now, I did a little just quick research this week, and I I wonder what demographic groups, ethnic groups maybe tend to live the longest in America. 00:11:41.440 --> 00:11:46.320 And I found out Asians live the longest on average in America. 00:11:46.559 --> 00:11:50.720 So if you're Asian, you got something on everybody in here. 00:11:52.000 --> 00:11:52.960 Asian Americans. 00:11:53.039 --> 00:11:53.759 So think about this. 00:11:53.919 --> 00:12:02.320 If Asian Americans live longer than anyone else, and women live longer than men, of course you can figure out that rich people tend to live longer than poor people. 00:12:02.480 --> 00:12:12.879 So even if you are a wealthy Asian woman, the longest living possible demo, your average age of death is 89. 00:12:13.440 --> 00:12:16.799 So you get eight years extra. 00:12:18.639 --> 00:12:28.159 That means if all of us live the average lifespan, 100 years from now, 2126, every person in the building will be dead. 00:12:28.879 --> 00:12:31.200 All everybody in this room will be dead. 00:12:31.679 --> 00:12:34.399 All the kids will be dead if the Lord doesn't return. 00:12:34.720 --> 00:12:35.759 Everybody. 00:12:38.240 --> 00:12:39.759 This church is amazing. 00:12:41.279 --> 00:12:44.559 Now I have to tell you, I'm a Christian, so I believe I'm going to heaven when I die. 00:12:44.639 --> 00:12:50.000 So I've told you before, like, I am zero afraid of being dead. 00:12:50.559 --> 00:12:53.039 I'm quite afraid of getting dead. 00:12:54.159 --> 00:12:55.519 I don't mind being dead. 00:12:55.600 --> 00:12:58.639 I'm not looking forward to getting dead. 00:12:58.799 --> 00:13:12.000 But you know, a lot of people, especially in this zip code where we live, a lot of people are working really hard and spending a lot of time and money making sure that they don't get dead anytime soon. 00:13:12.399 --> 00:13:15.600 You guys have heard of this term longevity maxing. 00:13:15.840 --> 00:13:17.759 A lot of people are longevity maxing. 00:13:17.840 --> 00:13:22.480 They get up in the morning, they walk around barefoot on their grass, trying to pick up the energy of the earth. 00:13:22.559 --> 00:13:24.320 They get sunlight for about an hour. 00:13:24.399 --> 00:13:28.080 They sit out in their backyard with no clothes on and they get all kinds of sunlight. 00:13:28.240 --> 00:13:29.519 They only eat organic. 00:13:29.600 --> 00:13:32.240 Uh, if you're a guy, you got a testosterone patch. 00:13:32.320 --> 00:13:57.440 They go over here and get all kinds of uh uh uh injections and IVs, and they get invisalign for their teeth, they whiten your teeth, uh you work out every day, you get Botox for your face, you lift your and your and then you and you and after you do all of those things, after you do all of those things, you know what's gonna happen when you're like 80 or 90 something year old, you're gonna die. 00:13:58.399 --> 00:14:01.679 Now you'll die better looking than the other people, but you will. 00:14:02.639 --> 00:14:03.600 You will die. 00:14:04.159 --> 00:14:06.080 All of those things, I'm not knocking it. 00:14:06.159 --> 00:14:07.360 If you do it, knock yourself out. 00:14:07.440 --> 00:14:08.399 I do some of it too. 00:14:08.559 --> 00:14:10.320 Not all of it, but some of it. 00:14:12.000 --> 00:14:18.960 But all of those things that we do, they might help us delay death, but they will not help us defeat death. 00:14:19.360 --> 00:14:25.440 Those things only help us delay the inevitable, they do not help us defeat the inevitable. 00:14:25.600 --> 00:14:27.919 And this is the truth from the Bible, verse 50. 00:14:28.080 --> 00:14:41.120 Our broken, fallen, flesh and blood bodies need to be changed from the perishable to the imperishable, from the mortal to the immortal. 00:14:41.360 --> 00:14:43.679 Otherwise, we cannot inherit the kingdom of God. 00:14:43.840 --> 00:14:46.799 We cannot live forever the way that we're designed to live. 00:14:46.960 --> 00:14:51.279 Now, you know internally, you know you're not made for death. 00:14:51.440 --> 00:14:53.120 You're made for life. 00:14:53.440 --> 00:14:56.799 God created you and gave you a living soul and he put it inside of you. 00:14:57.039 --> 00:15:00.080 You're not created for death, you're created for life. 00:15:00.159 --> 00:15:01.360 That's why we rebel against it. 00:15:01.440 --> 00:15:05.440 We get angry about it, we get sad about it, especially if somebody dies too young. 00:15:05.679 --> 00:15:08.799 Something inside of us just says, that's wrong. 00:15:09.200 --> 00:15:10.480 Should not be happening. 00:15:10.720 --> 00:15:11.039 Why? 00:15:11.360 --> 00:15:13.519 Because we're not made for that, man. 00:15:13.840 --> 00:15:14.799 We're made for life. 00:15:14.879 --> 00:15:20.799 We're not made for this, and yet we live in these broken bodies that just break down the longer we live. 00:15:21.120 --> 00:15:25.919 And we live in this broken world that breaks down in so many different ways, and we're just aware. 00:15:26.240 --> 00:15:38.320 Our body's breaking down, the world is broken down, and the older you get, the more you're aware of the fleeting nature of life. 00:15:38.879 --> 00:15:44.639 The fleeting nature of life, how quick it goes, how quick every life stage goes. 00:15:44.720 --> 00:15:52.720 And the more you realize the fleeting nature of life, the more you start to think about the futility of all of it. 00:15:53.279 --> 00:15:57.120 If it's gonna go this quick, why are we doing all of this? 00:15:57.200 --> 00:16:00.799 Why are we working so hard for something that lasts such a short time? 00:16:00.960 --> 00:16:02.240 And you know how that feels. 00:16:02.480 --> 00:16:03.759 Don't you remember some of you? 00:16:03.840 --> 00:16:11.600 It wasn't very long ago, when you graduate from high school, most young people have this thought Wow, how did it happen so quick? 00:16:11.679 --> 00:16:13.519 Do you remember thinking that at your high school graduation? 00:16:13.679 --> 00:16:16.720 Wow, how could this be over so quickly? 00:16:17.360 --> 00:16:21.440 And then one day you get a lawyer, and many of you get married, and you're like, Wow, I'm married. 00:16:21.519 --> 00:16:23.919 Like, it's it's unbelievable that this has happened. 00:16:24.399 --> 00:16:26.320 Happens on your 30th birthday sometimes. 00:16:26.399 --> 00:16:29.600 You turn 30 and you're like, whoa, 30. 00:16:31.200 --> 00:16:32.639 I'm getting old. 00:16:34.399 --> 00:16:39.440 Then you drop your kid at kindergarten, and you're like, I can't believe I'm already dropping them off at school. 00:16:39.519 --> 00:16:43.039 And then you drop them off at college, and you can't believe that it's come to this. 00:16:43.279 --> 00:16:46.799 And then you're walking her down the aisle to give her away. 00:16:47.039 --> 00:17:01.120 Then you're arranging long-term care for your parents, and then you're speaking at the funeral of your brother or your sister, and that question comes up in your mind how after everything, how has it come to this? 00:17:02.240 --> 00:17:04.480 How can I possibly be here in my life? 00:17:05.440 --> 00:17:12.400 I was talking to a friend of mine, he goes to our church, he's in his 70s, and he was telling me, like, he said, Man, lately I'll just keep going to funeral after funeral. 00:17:12.480 --> 00:17:16.319 It's like one a month, I go to a funeral of one of my friends or my co-workers. 00:17:16.720 --> 00:17:23.440 He said, I guess I'm gonna have to make some younger friends, or there's not gonna be anybody left to come to my funeral when the time comes. 00:17:24.160 --> 00:17:25.599 But we're all headed there. 00:17:25.759 --> 00:17:26.880 No matter how young you are. 00:17:26.960 --> 00:17:30.240 If you go to PBA, if you're a high school kid, we're all headed there eventually. 00:17:30.319 --> 00:17:37.119 That's why it says in verse 51, it says in the text, uh, not all of us will sleep, but almost all of us will sleep. 00:17:37.200 --> 00:17:38.799 And the word sleep there means die. 00:17:38.960 --> 00:17:39.279 Okay? 00:17:39.680 --> 00:17:41.680 Almost all of us will die. 00:17:41.839 --> 00:17:42.880 Who's not gonna die? 00:17:43.039 --> 00:17:44.799 Everyone's gonna die, but who's not gonna die? 00:17:44.960 --> 00:17:49.119 The only ones that aren't going to die are the ones who happen to be alive when Jesus returns. 00:17:49.359 --> 00:17:55.359 So at some point Jesus will come back, and when he does, the Christians that are alive, they're not going to die the way that everyone else will. 00:17:55.440 --> 00:18:00.319 But whether you die before Jesus returns, or if you're alive when Jesus returns, you still have the same problem. 00:18:00.480 --> 00:18:05.599 Verse 53, our bodies the way they are are perishable and mortal. 00:18:05.680 --> 00:18:10.480 And if we want to inherit the kingdom of God, they have to be imperishable and immortal. 00:18:10.640 --> 00:18:13.200 So something has to change. 00:18:13.440 --> 00:18:22.480 This broken, fallen flesh and blood body and this broken, fallen world has to be changed from the perishable to the imperishable, from the mortal to the immortal. 00:18:22.640 --> 00:18:24.000 And when Christ returns, St. 00:18:24.160 --> 00:18:30.480 Paul is teaching us when Christ returns, that's when this change will actually occur. 00:18:30.720 --> 00:18:33.279 Not all of us will sleep, but all of us will be changed. 00:18:33.440 --> 00:18:34.799 Our bodies will be changed. 00:18:35.039 --> 00:18:36.559 Creation will be changed. 00:18:36.720 --> 00:18:38.640 Which brings me to number two on your notes. 00:18:38.720 --> 00:18:41.759 We see in this text resurrection is coming. 00:18:42.000 --> 00:18:43.680 Resurrection is coming. 00:18:43.839 --> 00:18:48.960 Now, my grandmother, she died, and we buried her in a little cemetery out there in Clayton, Alabama. 00:18:49.200 --> 00:18:49.680 But St. 00:18:49.920 --> 00:19:00.559 Paul is teaching me that God isn't done with my grandmother, that God isn't done with my grandmother's body, that God isn't done with this planet and the world either. 00:19:00.799 --> 00:19:06.400 The change that's going to happen when Christ returns doesn't take long. 00:19:06.559 --> 00:19:08.079 Look what he says in verse 52. 00:19:08.240 --> 00:19:09.519 How long does the change take? 00:19:09.680 --> 00:19:12.079 When Christ returns, it happens in a moment. 00:19:12.880 --> 00:19:14.960 In the twinkling of an eye. 00:19:15.279 --> 00:19:22.799 When the trumpet sounds, and anytime in the New Testament you see the trumpet sound, it's always almost referring to the second coming of Christ. 00:19:23.039 --> 00:19:28.880 Christ is going to return, and at that moment, and also the trumpet's going to sound, it's going to be a surprise. 00:19:29.039 --> 00:19:30.640 You're not going to see it coming. 00:19:30.880 --> 00:19:32.640 You're not going to know ahead of time. 00:19:32.880 --> 00:19:33.680 He's just going to come. 00:19:33.759 --> 00:19:39.039 The trumpet's going to sound, and Christ is going to come, and boom, you're going to be changed. 00:19:40.319 --> 00:19:43.119 It's quick, it's unexpected, it's total. 00:19:44.160 --> 00:19:48.720 Now, I talk about this from time to time in here because I like to talk about heaven. 00:19:48.960 --> 00:19:54.160 But I want to review with you what actually happens to a believer when you die. 00:19:54.400 --> 00:20:02.079 So if you have a loved one who has died, one day when you die, this is what happens that the Bible tells us when a believer dies. 00:20:02.880 --> 00:20:04.559 Okay, because people are kind of confused about it. 00:20:04.640 --> 00:20:14.880 First of all, when you die, your body ceases to function, your spirit, your soul, who you are in here, goes to a place we're going to call paradise. 00:20:15.279 --> 00:20:17.759 We refer to it as heaven, but it's really paradise. 00:20:17.839 --> 00:20:22.480 And we get that because when Jesus was dying on the cross, you remember when he talked to the thief on the cross who was also dying? 00:20:22.640 --> 00:20:27.119 And Jesus told him, he said, Today you will be with me in paradise. 00:20:27.279 --> 00:20:30.880 Not some tough time in the future, but today you will be with me in paradise. 00:20:30.960 --> 00:20:31.200 And St. 00:20:31.359 --> 00:20:37.680 Paul said in another place, he said, To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. 00:20:37.839 --> 00:20:40.880 So when somebody dies, it's true, they go straight to, we'll call it heaven. 00:20:41.119 --> 00:20:41.839 They go to paradise. 00:20:41.920 --> 00:20:47.440 They go to be with the Lord, they go to a good place where they're with God, and it's a good thing for them. 00:20:47.680 --> 00:20:49.920 But then their body decays. 00:20:50.160 --> 00:20:52.640 If you bury the body, eventually that will decay. 00:20:52.960 --> 00:20:56.000 If you got eaten by sharks, eventually that will decay. 00:20:56.400 --> 00:21:00.480 If you got uh blown up in a war, uh your body will decay. 00:21:00.640 --> 00:21:20.319 But what happens is when Christ returns, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye at the trumpet sound, then your body will be reconstituted and resurrected, and your spirit or soul that's in Paris will be reunited with your physical, renewed, resurrected body. 00:21:20.559 --> 00:21:23.440 I told you this stuff we believe about this is weird. 00:21:23.680 --> 00:21:25.440 But this is what the Bible teaches. 00:21:25.599 --> 00:21:30.000 And so you'll be resurrected and you will be united with your body. 00:21:30.240 --> 00:21:43.279 And then there will be a judgment, and believers in Jesus will be declared righteous at that judgment because of the righteousness of Christ, and then we will live forever in what is called the new heavens and the new earth. 00:21:43.599 --> 00:21:45.759 You say, Well, what's my body gonna be like? 00:21:46.000 --> 00:21:47.359 I would like a different body. 00:21:47.440 --> 00:21:51.920 You're not gonna get a different body, you're gonna get the body you have right now. 00:21:52.240 --> 00:21:54.240 I was hoping for an upgrade. 00:21:55.200 --> 00:21:59.680 You're gonna get an upgrade, you're gonna get a better, you're gonna get a better version of the body than you have. 00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:08.400 Ever had, and a better version of your body than you could possibly ever have in this flesh and blood, perishable, mortal existence? 00:22:08.559 --> 00:22:12.240 It's going to be an imperishable, it's going to be an immortal existence. 00:22:12.400 --> 00:22:14.079 It will be you, it will be your body. 00:22:14.240 --> 00:22:15.359 People will recognize you. 00:22:15.519 --> 00:22:16.640 You will have your memories. 00:22:16.799 --> 00:22:25.839 People you've known will know you, but it will be you, but it will be a better version of you than you could ever have when it comes to your resurrection body. 00:22:27.839 --> 00:22:29.519 Well, what about unbelievers? 00:22:29.680 --> 00:22:31.680 What happens to them after they die? 00:22:33.279 --> 00:22:38.000 Unbelievers, their spirit, their soul goes to a place of separation from God. 00:22:38.400 --> 00:22:40.880 It's not fun there, it's not good there. 00:22:41.359 --> 00:22:42.960 Their body will decay as well. 00:22:43.119 --> 00:22:50.880 At the second coming, in the twinkling of an eye, in a moment, their body will be resurrected and reunited with their soul too. 00:22:51.599 --> 00:23:00.000 Only when they face judgment, they will be declared guilty because they will be standing in their own sins and they won't be clothed in the righteousness of Christ. 00:23:00.240 --> 00:23:03.279 And after they're declared guilty, they will be separated from God forever. 00:23:03.359 --> 00:23:10.960 And the Bible says they'll be cast into a place the Bible calls the lake of fire that is reserved for the devil and his angels. 00:23:11.759 --> 00:23:13.279 So I don't know if I like that a whole lot. 00:23:13.359 --> 00:23:15.839 Well, that's what you just recited in the Apostles' Creed. 00:23:16.000 --> 00:23:21.440 I believe he will return to judge the living and the dead. 00:23:24.559 --> 00:23:27.680 And everyone's going to exist forever somewhere. 00:23:28.160 --> 00:23:29.279 Everybody. 00:23:29.759 --> 00:23:34.559 So to be clear, when you die, you will not become an angel. 00:23:35.039 --> 00:23:36.960 I don't care what they say at your funeral. 00:23:37.039 --> 00:23:38.079 You're not going to be an angel. 00:23:38.160 --> 00:23:39.599 You're not going to have wings. 00:23:40.319 --> 00:23:41.920 You're not going to go to purgatory. 00:23:42.079 --> 00:23:43.839 Some of you who learned that, that doesn't exist. 00:23:43.920 --> 00:23:44.880 That's not real. 00:23:45.759 --> 00:23:48.880 You're not going to just go away and cease to exist. 00:23:49.279 --> 00:23:53.119 You will exist forever somewhere, and there's heaven and there's hell. 00:23:53.359 --> 00:23:54.960 And that's why you should believe in Jesus. 00:23:55.039 --> 00:23:58.160 That's one of the reasons you should turn from your sins and receive Jesus by faith. 00:23:58.319 --> 00:24:01.759 Because believers go to heaven, which brings me to number three on your notes. 00:24:01.920 --> 00:24:03.119 Heaven is forever. 00:24:03.359 --> 00:24:04.079 Heaven is forever. 00:24:04.160 --> 00:24:06.079 Look what it said in the text, verse 54. 00:24:06.319 --> 00:24:09.920 Death at this point, when Christ returns, is swallowed in victory. 00:24:10.079 --> 00:24:10.960 Verse 55. 00:24:11.519 --> 00:24:11.680 St. 00:24:11.839 --> 00:24:13.279 Paul's taunting death. 00:24:13.359 --> 00:24:15.599 Hey, death, where is your victory? 00:24:15.759 --> 00:24:17.200 Where is your sting? 00:24:17.279 --> 00:24:20.799 And the reason is because death is gone and the sting of death is gone. 00:24:21.039 --> 00:24:23.279 Death is dead and defeated. 00:24:23.440 --> 00:24:30.160 And you remember the futility of longevity maxim, trying to postpone death, trying to defeat death. 00:24:30.400 --> 00:24:33.759 Well, the only one who can finally defeat death is Christ. 00:24:33.920 --> 00:24:41.440 And only after Christ returns and you are resurrected, that's when you will experience the final victory over death. 00:24:41.599 --> 00:24:43.440 Now something like great, we're going to live in heaven. 00:24:43.519 --> 00:24:45.119 What is heaven going to be like? 00:24:45.519 --> 00:24:47.440 Let me start with what we know from the Bible. 00:24:47.599 --> 00:24:52.160 The Bible, and I can't tell you everything, but this is some things we know from the Bible, what heaven is like. 00:24:52.319 --> 00:24:53.519 First of all, we'll be with Christ. 00:24:53.680 --> 00:24:56.400 John 14, 3, where I am, you shall be also. 00:24:57.119 --> 00:24:59.039 We will rule with Christ. 00:24:59.200 --> 00:25:01.039 Real responsibility, real authority. 00:25:01.200 --> 00:25:02.640 2 Timothy chapter 2. 00:25:02.799 --> 00:25:05.839 When we get to heaven, there will be no more death and no more grief. 00:25:06.000 --> 00:25:07.839 Revelation chapter 21. 00:25:08.079 --> 00:25:10.640 There will be food, all of you hungry people. 00:25:10.880 --> 00:25:12.640 Luke chapter 22. 00:25:12.799 --> 00:25:18.240 We will meet other believers, even famous believers, characters from the Bible, Matthew chapter 8. 00:25:18.480 --> 00:25:22.640 We will know and understand things there that we cannot know and understand here. 00:25:22.799 --> 00:25:25.279 1 Corinthians chapter 13. 00:25:25.440 --> 00:25:31.920 And we will live in a place the Bible calls the new heavens and the new earth, Revelation chapter 21. 00:25:32.079 --> 00:25:37.359 Now I get a lot of questions from people about heaven, especially when a loved one dies. 00:25:37.839 --> 00:25:42.079 And many of these questions are not directly, definitively answered in the Bible. 00:25:42.240 --> 00:25:49.680 But as you know, I like to engage in a lot of biblically informed imagination. 00:25:50.799 --> 00:25:54.559 So for example, people ask me all the time, is my dog gonna be there? 00:25:55.200 --> 00:25:57.200 Is my horse gonna be there? 00:25:57.599 --> 00:25:59.200 Is my cat gonna be there? 00:25:59.440 --> 00:26:00.160 Definitely not. 00:26:00.319 --> 00:26:04.559 Alright, so you know, you know, I don't know. 00:26:05.599 --> 00:26:07.279 I actually think there's a good chance. 00:26:07.359 --> 00:26:08.160 I'm serious about it. 00:26:08.240 --> 00:26:12.559 I actually think there's a good chance if you love an animal, I think there's a good chance an animal will be there in heaven. 00:26:12.720 --> 00:26:13.200 I do. 00:26:13.359 --> 00:26:14.480 I can't say it for sure. 00:26:14.640 --> 00:26:15.680 I think there's a good chance. 00:26:15.839 --> 00:26:17.200 We know there's gonna be food there. 00:26:17.359 --> 00:26:18.079 I like that. 00:26:18.400 --> 00:26:19.200 What about marriage? 00:26:19.359 --> 00:26:20.160 What about sex? 00:26:20.400 --> 00:26:21.920 I'm not sure it doesn't seem like it. 00:26:22.000 --> 00:26:22.960 Well, that doesn't seem good. 00:26:23.039 --> 00:26:24.480 I know, but there'll be something good there. 00:26:24.559 --> 00:26:25.279 You'll like it. 00:26:26.000 --> 00:26:28.720 What about loved ones that are not believers? 00:26:28.799 --> 00:26:29.680 This is a big question. 00:26:29.839 --> 00:26:32.000 What about loved ones who are not believers? 00:26:32.240 --> 00:26:33.680 Because this is a heavy deal, isn't it? 00:26:33.759 --> 00:26:38.559 When you start talking about this, immediately your mind goes to, yeah, but I got people that I love that have already died. 00:26:38.799 --> 00:26:40.880 As far as I know, they they didn't believe in Jesus. 00:26:40.960 --> 00:26:42.240 Let me just give you a little bit of hope. 00:26:42.319 --> 00:26:46.960 Number one, you don't know for sure that they weren't believers. 00:26:47.200 --> 00:26:49.359 You say, Yeah, because I talked to them, they told me they weren't. 00:26:49.440 --> 00:26:58.240 I know, but even on their deathbed, it's possible for someone to make a decision on their deathbed and turn from their sins and cry out to God, and they wouldn't have had time to tell you. 00:26:58.319 --> 00:26:59.680 You say, really, does that happen? 00:27:00.079 --> 00:27:09.920 When Jesus was, when Jesus was dying with the thief on the cross, the thief on the cross, on the cross, as he's dying, calls upon the Lord, and Jesus says, Today you'll be with me in paradise. 00:27:10.079 --> 00:27:12.799 All of his loved ones say, Well, he couldn't have gone to heaven. 00:27:12.880 --> 00:27:13.680 I mean, he was a thief. 00:27:13.759 --> 00:27:20.480 He got he got he got executed for his crimes because they didn't know that Jesus told him today you will be with me in paradise. 00:27:20.559 --> 00:27:23.920 And nobody knew until they start reading about it in the Bible. 00:27:24.000 --> 00:27:25.839 So you don't know for sure. 00:27:26.160 --> 00:27:38.480 And secondly, you as a Christian have to trust that God is good and that God will do what is right and just for your loved ones. 00:27:39.680 --> 00:27:41.680 God will do what is right and just for your loved ones. 00:27:41.759 --> 00:27:44.880 Now, some of you are like, hey, I can't res I can't I can't accept that. 00:27:45.200 --> 00:27:48.880 I can't understand that, and I can't accept it. 00:27:48.960 --> 00:27:50.559 And I understand why you would think that. 00:27:50.720 --> 00:27:52.480 Here's what else is going to happen to us in heaven. 00:27:52.640 --> 00:28:00.640 When you get to heaven, things that you can't understand and you will not accept here, you will learn to understand and you will learn to accept there. 00:28:01.359 --> 00:28:03.920