Truth to Life
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Truth to Life
Fading Body, Lasting Work | S2E13
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Is it really worth it to follow Jesus?
In this episode of Deeper at Life, we dive into 1 Corinthians 15:34–58 and unpack one of the most powerful truths in Scripture: because Jesus rose, everything changes.
From the promise of a transformed, glorified body… to the reality that death has lost its sting… to the encouragement that your labor in the Lord is not in vain, this conversation connects eternity to everyday life.
Because Christ rose, your future is secure, and your work matters forever.
Oh man, welcome back to Deeper Life. Um, we're here with Pastor Andrew, Pastor Chuck today. We're back. Took a week off. Um, Andrew was in the poll on a mission trip and felt like we could merge these two texts together. So two weeks ago, Andrew, you talked about the resurrection body. So last week you talked about uh Chuck, how that changes everything about how we live. So I'm not sure where to go, to be honest. Um, I don't think any of us know. Chuck's probably the most equipped right now.
SPEAKER_02So, yeah, full disclosure, uh, I'm on jet lag right now, and I have not recouped yet. So, this is my push-through day. Um, I feel like sleeping right now, but I'm not because I've got to get back on clock. So who knows where this could go? It's gonna be great. It's gonna be great. Hopefully, the spirit manifests himself and uh we'll be able to talk through these things.
SPEAKER_03But I think even having the podcast, um, you know, taking that week off for you to be able to be doing the mission in Nepal and then coming together, like these two passages could be one sermon. Yeah, 100%. I mean, it it is so connected in how Paul just lays out his final argument for the resurrection.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, thankful that uh we were able to do it. I'm thankful that I got a chance to go to Nepal and hopefully in time ahead I'll be able to share more about what the Lord did in my life and what the Lord's doing in that country. Um, but that's possible because Chuck's able to fill in and uh continue on with the study and uh just kind of tag team. I've I'm a little jealous because there are certain passages in Corinthians that you like look at and think that's a peak. So like imagine hiking a mountain range, and across the mountain range, there are these peaks that you get to that are the payoffs for all the hard work that you do to get there. And imagine you not being able to get to the peak. That's what 1 Corinthians 15, 50 through 58 is. It's one of those peaks that you're like, I did all the hard work, and then I just said, Here, Chuck. But thank God Chuck got to do it. So I'm not jealous.
SPEAKER_03I think Jesus says something about that.
SPEAKER_02I'm not jealous. I'm glad. I'm glad you got the opportunity to cover one of the most incredible texts in all of scripture. Phenomenal. I got to, I got to reap what you sowed. I hope you didn't fumble the ball, Chuck, because I mean it was no dude.
SPEAKER_00He was really, you were getting after it, man. I mean, I we were in the middle of Burger Bash, the heat of the Burger Bash, but yeah, uh watched it back actually because I wasn't in service and you were told preaching.
SPEAKER_02Like you came out, dude. Yeah, man. That was nice. That's awesome. So yeah, I think I think the text is great. It's Paul's finishing up his resurrection promise. So just so we all know, kind of caught up. The resurrection's real. That's his point. It happened. There were people in the Corinthian church that were denying bodily resurrection. They were saying the dead don't rise. And he said, Well, if the dead don't rise, then Jesus didn't rise because Jesus was a man. Now he was pure and holy and perfect and God in the flesh, but he was a man. So if the dead don't rise, then Jesus didn't rise. And if Jesus didn't rise, we're in trouble. But he did rise. And we know that he did rise because he gave some, he gave several proofs to that. We already preached on that. But now that we know that Christ did rise, we know that there is a resurrection to all of those who belong to Christ. Amen. And here's what it's gonna be like. And that's kind of where I focused the last couple of uh couple weeks ago was well, what's it gonna be like?
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_02Some of you ask, how are the dead raised? Uh if you just heard a notification, that's my computer, not on silence. So I apologize for that. But the question is, how are the dead raised? What's this gonna be like? How's that possible? Right? Right. Wait, you're telling me the dead are gonna rise. These dead, disgusting, decaying, sinful bodies are gonna be raised to be fit for glory. No way. And Paul's like, oh, yes, way, here's how it's gonna happen. And then that was a couple weeks ago. He begins to explain through the power of God what's gonna what that's gonna look like and some proofs to all of that.
SPEAKER_03So that's what's going on. Yeah, and then I touched on how you know Paul continues to answer these questions, but then he, you know, anticipates another question. Like not only the what, not only the um how, but also the why as well. Like it's important that our bodies are raised. Like we in and of ourselves are insufficient, we're not fit for the kingdom. So he has to give us new bodies.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and and and and the point that he made the week before that was he has to give us new bodies, and that's not abnormal to the pattern of God's activity in created things. Yeah, he has this unique ability to fit things for the context in which he places them. He placed planets to be perfectly designed to operate at the point in the universe where they are, and he created animals who are perfectly fit with the capability to thrive in the context he placed them in. Creation speaks to this. So if God in his original creation provided the unique characteristics needed to thrive in the context he places people in, then he certainly can do that again in the new creation when he creates from our bodies a new body, glorified and perfectly fit for the kingdom that he is going to establish. Why would we doubt that the power of God is capable of doing that when we see it every day?
SPEAKER_03Absolutely. And I think one thing that was extremely beneficial for my small group and you know, from people that are here in other church is that it's going to be a body. Yes. Like it's it is not just this mystical thing that I'm floating in there. And I love how you brought that out because Paul talks about okay, this natural body and then the spiritual body. And we automatically assume, oh, if it's a spiritual body, then it must be a spirit. Like, no, no, he he still said there's a body. Yep.
SPEAKER_02There's it's key. You can't have a spiritual body without a body, it's a spiritual body, which means it is a spirit-empowered, spirit-controlled, spirit-man, uh, spirit at work in body. Perfect, what I think God intended the body to be when he created man. It's gonna be that. But it's gonna be again, I'm like trying to explain something that I don't even know how to explain. Right. Because I what does that mean? I don't know. I just know this is what it says. What's it gonna be like? I don't know, but man, I sure can't wait to see it. And I don't doubt that God has the power to do so because he's the God who creates people things fit for the context he places them in.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02So yeah, dude, I think the body situation, we're not gonna be spirits, we're not gonna be floating on a cloud with a harp and wings and haunting people, translucent and you know.
SPEAKER_00No, that was a huge dude. We we had at least four people just in our small group alone that thought that they were gonna be like spiritual orbs or something. And so to get the clarity, I can't imagine how many other people. And I don't even know if I had a thought previous to this. I figured it would be a body, but just the clarity on that. And then you said that death's not an obstacle, it's a pathway. And so then you started talking about your seed illustration. Oh, yeah. I think every single person in my small group said something about your seed illustration, and they were like mind blown. So you already started talking about that in creation, but I mean, I think talking a little bit more about that before we dive into the city.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, his point, like, right, like, wait a second. So so let's just play devil's advocate with the people in Corinth. Wait, you're gonna tell me that this body is gonna die, decay, and then rise again? No way. And he's like, why is that so far? Hard to understand, right? It happens all the time. You see that plant over there? Where'd that come from? A seed. What happened to that seed? It was put in the ground. What happened to it when it was put in the ground? It died, or it was seemed to be done, and yet from that, I did not create something all the way new, I just created something altogether different in in features and characteristics from that seed that was placed in the ground. I do it every day. Right. Look around you. Every living thing started with a seed that was buried and seemed to be lost, and from it I did something great. Why why can't I do that again? You can. Right. And it will not be mere resuscitation. We said that. He's not just gonna resuscitate dead bodies and make them make them zombies. Right. This isn't uh the walking dead. This is not total replacement either. Right. So it's not, oh, that that body stays. I'm gonna give you something completely new. No, it's it's the same body, it's just blossoming into something. It's so crazy.
SPEAKER_03Like no, it is great because it and I love how gracious you were in it going through this verse by verse, because Paul clearly says, You foolish person. Like you do you not understand that which you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And it's like it's something that they should have known because God has made this known his creation.
SPEAKER_02But God has given it a body as he has chosen. So ultimately, what you're here's the problem. Here's always a problem with theology. Theology gets hard to understand when you try to package God into our way of thinking and understanding. When we create a box and then we try to stuff God in this box. While I was in uh Nepal, illustration of this, um, I bought my wife a jacket. They had these like knockoff Patagonia jackets because Mount Everest is there, so people go hiking. And I don't know if it's it's spelt right. It's not like Patagonia or Patagonia or something like that. It's Patagonia, which is like a $300 jacket. I bought it for like $20. So they have this little package, this tiny little package that this jacket, it's a down jacket. You stuff it into this little package. And I'm like, there's no way that's gonna fit in this little package like that big. Now it did fit, but that's what we do with God is we create a little package and we're like, all right, God, in order for me to understand you and believe you and love you and trust you, you have to fit in this little package, or else I'm not taking you with me. And we stuff him in, and when we when he doesn't fit, we have this weird mutated theology. And that's what they did. They couldn't understand this thing about God, so they didn't believe that thing was true. And Paul's like, Why did you create a box so small for God? Just let God be God. Trust what he's already displayed and revealed to you. Stop trying to fit him in a box and just try to see him by faith for who he is, and it's on display. Yeah, his characteristics and his power and his abilities is on display all around us. So just trust that he has the ability to do what he wants to do with the bodies that he chooses to raise with those who belong to him. You fools. I love it.
SPEAKER_00Paul, man, Paul is just the greatest thing. Paul man, yeah, it's great.
SPEAKER_02Paul is not describing, I think Anthony Thistleton said it well. Paul is not describing annihilation of identity, but transformation into an eschatologically appropriate form. That's what we're talking about here. Yeah, yeah. So good, man. So good. But then Go ahead. Go ahead, Tom. You were gonna lead us into it. I have more to say.
SPEAKER_00I just there was a gap there, and then I yawned, and so then I was coming back, and then we came back in. No, man, I think the the putting God in a box thing is is so common. And then we we feel like in a box because we put God in a box, and ultimately the whole thing is putting God in a box. But even, you know, numbers like push the bounds, but praying for burger bash this weekend. Like we thought we were praying big and God showed up bigger, and it's just like, yeah, man. I mean, obviously we're we're humbly asking God for something, but oftentimes, and then um you talked a lot about like our body now isn't designed for eternity. Like this is the yeah, we're gonna decay, we're gonna get old and stuff. And then I think in the preaching meeting, you talked about like Jesus when he rises and he's on the road. They don't even recognize him.
SPEAKER_02Yes, right.
SPEAKER_00It's like so we don't know, and we talked about it in a small group, like we have no idea what we're gonna like look like.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, but it's gonna be familiar.
SPEAKER_00But yeah, yeah, for sure. Yeah, but still like transformed of radiance.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, there's gonna be a radiance. It's like um, it's like when you see somebody pre-salvation, and then a few years later you see them after salvation. And before it was maybe drugs or alcohol or just a lifestyle that just was different, and then you meet them and you're like, Are you even the same person? There's a glow, there's a radiance, there's a joy about you that I can't even explain. That, and that's not that's not even perfected, glorified yet. That's just salvation and hope in a decaying body. Think about how much more now they recognized him, but they were like, Wait, you're him, you're Jesus, something's different. That is what, and again, I don't it how do you explain? I don't know how to explain that. It's just a glory fit for king for heaven, fit for the eternal kingdom. It's crazy. But it's a spiritual body, you know? So we thrive in the context that he uniquely fits us for in that day. When this body, man, we put off this old body. And I know we're jumping ahead, I don't know if what the order here is, but think about what he talks about. This natural body, this body that you and I are in right now, is perishable. It's decaying, it's corrupting, it's deteriorating. I spent 15 hours on one flight coming home yesterday, and this body was struggling, sore, tight, all kinds of things, right? It's decaying. But when we are raised, it's imperishable, uncorrupting. I don't even know how to I don't even know how to qualify that, but that's what it's gonna be like, he says. We will no longer die, we will never die again because we will be raised as Christ was raised. Romans 6 9.
SPEAKER_03Amen.
SPEAKER_02And every funeral we are reminded of the perishability of man. Every ache, every pain, every every out-of-joint knee or you know, arthritic hand reminds us this body is corrupting. But one day the thing will be cleaned out, cleared away, and we will raise incorruptible, unperishable. Amen.
SPEAKER_03And and and I love how you set me up for that because I was talking about how like not just the decaying of our body, but we're flawed. Like we there, there is we we're in this sin-written body that is not fit for the glorious, perfect heaven that is there. Like not only are we, you know, uh uh decaying, but we're we're flawed, we're corrupted, we're depraved. And you're thinking that even on your best day you're gonna get into heaven like that? Like, no, that needs to be changed. Heaven is perfect, heaven is eternal, and the body that we're currently in is not fit for that. So it must be changed. That's right.
SPEAKER_02That's right. Sown in dishonor. Think about the dishonor that we eventually die in. I just think I think he's got a picture of pretty much humiliation, not just sin. Yeah, but because of sin, we die in humiliation. Think about the dignity that we try to maintain. We have clothes on to maintain dignity, we have all kinds of modesty and appropriate attire and appropriate look to maintain dignity and honor. And then the day is coming for every one of us when we're gonna be laid out upon a gurney or a metal table, and a mortician is gonna have us like a piece of meat flopped out over there, full of dishonor, full of shame, full of no splendor, absence of splendor, cut open, embalmed, and either, either, you know, cremated or laid in a casket or whatever. Right. I'm gonna try to beat that too far, but you get the picture. That's where this goes. Or think about the fact that as you age, what was honorable now is just your body's just there's hair growing all kinds of places. There's sounds, there's losing control of your bowels. There's I mean, I'm again, I'm not trying to be inappropriate. That's the picture. Yeah, but yet we are raised in a glorious state, an honorable state, a a splendored state. How is that gonna be like? I all I know is this Philippians 3 21. He will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body. Those whom he justified, he also glorified. Okay, cool. What's that gonna be like? I have no idea. That'd be great, though.
SPEAKER_00I don't know, man. The the hope. There's endless hope. Sown in weakness, raised in power.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Weakness is this idea of lack of strength and lack of energy. Power is this dunamis, ability, energy, strength. I think about that, right? Like, I can't I sit on the couch sometimes and my son wants to wrestle, and I'm like, dude, I'm tired. I don't have the energy for this, right? I say that to my kids sometimes. Ava, I don't have the energy for this. I am tired. But it'll be raised in dunamis. It'll be raised in power and capacity and ability, full capacity, the ability to do what it was intended to do. The body was given with intentions from the creator. We have been limited in power to do it because of sin. But in that day, we will be given full capacity to fulfill the purpose for which we were created. The governor's taking off. The governor's taken off. Stupid governors on those go-karts. Mini Grand Prix, you go to go fast and you got the corner and you're about to pass on the outside, and all of a sudden it goes.
SPEAKER_00One of my dreams, man, is to get my boys some go-karts, dude. I just actually don't know if it's safe for their life. No, it's not. That was one thing I wanted as a kid was a go-kart that was just ripping wide open.
SPEAKER_02Growing up, my uncle had one and it was dangerous. Yeah, I feel like, yeah. And I know your boys, because your boys are living my life as a child. Just try to kill each other as much as possible.
SPEAKER_00It'd be bad. We I actually almost bought them one for Christmas, but we didn't do it. Uh, praise God for Haley.
SPEAKER_02The other characteristic in verse 44 you already mentioned sewn and sown is the natural body raised the spiritual body. Just means fit for this world versus being raised fit for that world. Yeah. Completely filled with and controlled by the spirit. Now, when you think about natural body versus spiritual body, we're not thinking physical versus non-physical. Right. We're thinking present age versus spirit-filled age. Amen. That's the difference. Adamic life versus resurrected life. Weak and mortal versus spirit governed and glorious. And that's what we get.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. Man. Yeah. And I love how he tied that in because you you mentioned um in your message previous to the one that you preach, like you are either in Adam or you're in Christ. And then he continues to double down on this. Like all of those who are in Adam have that natural body. Yeah. And all of those who are in Christ will have that spiritual body. And he he like continues to double down on that in verse 47. It says, first man, Adam is from earth. If you don't remember, like he was from earth. Now the the second man is from heaven. So it's like, okay, if the first man's from earth and I have this earthly body, obviously the answer is I'm gonna have a heavenly body because of the second man.
SPEAKER_02Well, the first Adam received life, he became a living being. Yes. Which means that he was not alive at one point and then became a living being and was of this earth. But the second Adam became a life-giving spirit. Yeah. So we inherit the created nature of Adam, but then from Christ, we inherit the life-giving, eternal nature of life through his power and through the working of the spirit. Adam receives life, Christ gives life. Adam began the old humanity, Christ began the new humanity. And that's what's waiting for us. This not natural, but spiritual, not embodied, not disembodied, bodied, but governed by the spirit. Amen. Full capacity to accomplish what we've been created to accomplish. Dang.
SPEAKER_00Good, man. I don't know. We just covered all that pretty fast.
SPEAKER_02I'm still stuck on power, but well, I think that's that's a way to summarize pretty quick verses 35 through 49. Yeah. So if you have questions about, so here's what I'd say. I'll think if you're like, I don't understand how this is gonna happen, and I don't know that reading this fully answers all your questions, but it gives you something to latch your fingers onto, to anchor your mind to and anchor your heart to. And if you're facing death or you're mourning the death of somebody you love, or maybe you're facing it yourself and you're like, I need to know, I want some hope to fill my joy. Remember, Paul uses the same talk in Thessalonians to say, comfort one another with these words. So don't be discouraged. We're not all gonna sleep. Some of us sleep, but we will be raised to walk in newness of life, not just now, but raised bodily to walk in a new life. Dude, find encouragement in that. So I I've tried to say it at the end. I think that listen, you're you got cancer, but that that's not the final thing that's true about you. That doesn't have the last word. Right. You're getting old and aged and you're in a nursing home, or you're like, man, my body's just, and maybe you're feeling the effects of that and you're depressed. It doesn't get the last word. Or maybe you're disabled, and you're in a wheelchair, or you're handicapped. Doesn't get the last word. And the grave doesn't get the last word. All of those things were not God's perfect intention for creation. It is the result of a fallen world. Or maybe you're beaten up by sin or the decisions of your sin. That doesn't get the last word. There's a hope that's laying up for you that is unbelievably, indescribably glorious. So don't think about too small about the resurrection. Amen. It's gonna happen.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, what a what an unbelievable amount of encouragement. Just yeah, like suffering produces endurance. I mean, just all the things. So that's good. So yeah, we transition into the why fading body lasting work. Love it, love the title, Chuck. Um I think go Chuck. Yeah, pretty fire, to be honest. So your opening illustration, I thought. Great. And honestly, shout out you, dude, because you you you plugged deeper at life, dude. You're like, you know. So talk about a little about that because that was you referenced that your intro.
SPEAKER_03Um yeah, man. I was just um thinking about just the intentionality that we had with this message or with the series, even it's like not only do we want people to hear the series and benefit from them, but to actively engage. So we provided pulpit curriculum for them to go deeper with the scripture journals where you know you can write all your notes and then deeper at life podcasts. I think I think I even made a joke about, you know, if you bring back your scripture reference, you know, and show it to Jason, he'll give you a thousand dollars. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00So your journal, yeah, you actually ever. That was pretty funny. Yeah, I was like, oh man. It's like I wonder if that's true. And then you're like, nah, just a hundred bucks. So yeah, that sounds right.
SPEAKER_03But but no, like all of these things that we've used was for the benefit of our people. Like, even with the truth to life, even with, you know, just the engagement that we have in our church. It's like we want you to actively engage in all of this. And then I got to thinking, okay, well, there's probably people that have been actively engaging. There's probably people that was like, you know what, Chuck, I've been doing the work, but my situation is not changing. You know, my spouse is not, you know, saved yet. My kids are still in disobedience, like all of these things. And and the clear call that I see that Paul is getting at is be encouraged, like be unmovable, keep doing the work. Like in due time, you will reap what you sow. And having that eternal mindset because we're supposed to be thinking about the the eternal aspect of this, not just the temporal things of all of this stuff. And the way he starts about this is with your body. He's like, okay, there's certain things with your body that you need to be aware of. And give my points just real quick, but like when we have this understanding that Christ's death was con, I mean, uh, that when Christ died, he conquered death, that we live in hope of our coming transformation. We live in worship of the victor who was the defeater of death, and then we live in obedience, knowing that our labor is not, I mean, our labor is eternal. We can continue to persevere with all of this.
SPEAKER_02That's good. I didn't listen full disclosure to the sermon. I was busy. So I'm sorry.
SPEAKER_03Listen, you were doing it.
SPEAKER_02I mean, I had seven times that I was preaching in Nepal and then coming back. So I did know what you were preaching on because obviously we talked about it. We talked about it. We had we talked about the outline. You even shared on the message what you were going with. So I know the direction you were going. And I think that is absolutely what this text is saying. Hope this flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. I need, I need a better outfit, I need a better covering. And so I tell you a mystery. He goes in and says, We shall not all sleep. What a cool phrase. Yeah, but we shall all be changed. So there's gonna be some that don't die in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. That's all this like Christ returns, something transforms and changes. Uh, we shall all be changed. That's the transformation. We shall get the new body, yeah. We shall be transformed in an instant. By the way, that's cool. So the fitting us for eternal glory is not this like decades-long evolution process, right? It's bam, twinkling of an eye. How fast that? Super fast. Yes. Faster than you can even snap your finger, right? Bam, you're changed. Right. That was that was too slow.
SPEAKER_03That was too strong.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, too slow. The trumpet will sound. What's that gonna be like? This loud, not secret. I don't think this is loud. I think this is loud public trumpet. People are gonna be like, what just happened? The incomes, uh, this mortal body will put on immortality, this perishable body will put on imperishable. What is he describing there? What you just said, hope. Yep. So much hope. Yeah, absolutely. Because you're thinking, how is this because I I deal with that? How is this sinful, broken, decaying, sore, sad body going to be fit for heaven? Right. Man, that's discouraging. I don't think I can go there. And he's like, oh no, there's hope. Because in a moment, God will transform that body that you're lugging around through life into something new. There's hope.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, and and it's not like the world type of hope. No, yeah, like you know, it's not this fading, unsure thing. It is rooted and grounded in Christ's resurrection, which he is already dead. Like he rose, and that gave us the hope. Like he is the first fruit, he's the life-giving spirit that we know, okay, more life is gonna come. All life that is in him will be raised and will be changed.
SPEAKER_02Find hope, man. Like if you're like discouraged, frustrated, overwhelmed by it, keep fighting, keep struggling, keep pushing through because it's not a hopeless endeavor. Right. There's a change, a change, and a transformation coming. So, what's the only appropriate response? Worship.
SPEAKER_03Worship. Worship. Oh man, I'm telling you, and this is the part to where I think I enjoyed it way more.
SPEAKER_02Like I think I enjoyed it way more because Hey, listen, all you people that come to church, you need to start enjoying our sermons a little bit more. We can't be the only ones enjoying them, right, Chuck?
SPEAKER_03Listen, I yes, but but it's funny because I heard this on social media and I was like, this is pretty clever. Um, this guy was saying, like, he started to think about preaching in a different way. I am enjoying the Bible with others. Yeah, and that's what we do. We get up there and we enjoy the scriptures because we have spent time in the text cutting up this meat, digesting it, and then being preparing this for our congregation, which they should get excited because it's worth getting excited for. Yeah. Worship.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so worship. I'm gonna just jump in right there because we just kind of took a little pause and I think Don was gonna lead us into it. But this uh he goes off and says, Thanks be to God, yes, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus. And then he talks to death. Hey, death, where you at? Mm-hmm. Where's death at? Death, you still around? Oh, you're not you're not strong anymore? Death wears your victory. Oh, death wears your victory. I love it when in the Bible they address the the thing.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Like, like, like in uh Romans 8, when he's like, Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? And he goes through and he's like, Is it is there any principalities? You, you, powers? Where are you at? It's like he's in a room full of these things and he's like, Dom, what you got? Nothing? Chuck?
SPEAKER_00This is the best podcast.
SPEAKER_02And he's like, Death, where are you at? Oh, death, oh, death's all defeated. They're in the they're in the corner crying. Yes, why? Because Christ died and removed the sting of your death. Amen. Because Christ rose and you have no victory, because Jesus wins. So what's the right response? Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Yeah. Paul busts out in songs.
SPEAKER_03So I I I was having this vision in my head when I was preaching this is like the Apostle Paul is standing over Dev, like, where are you at? Where you at? Yes.
SPEAKER_00You said he was taunting. Yes, which I love. I was like, yo, what's up? What's up, dog? Straight up.
SPEAKER_02In the NFL, you get flagged for uh, you know, uh uh unsporting like conduct. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But uh this one don't care. He's the ref and the victor. This is like the referee calling the shots over the guy laying on the ground. But here it is Colossians, right? He made it uh a show of them, defeating them, an open show of how's the word go? Yes, he defeated them public display or um oh my goodness. Yeah, there's a col there's a Colossians reference there where he he basically humiliated him. He super won, um, made a show of them openly, I think is how it goes. We're gonna find it and we're gonna put it out there because we don't have the Bible memorized like we should.
SPEAKER_00I mean, honestly, we're preaching through Colossians right now, students. So I should have been able to answer this. Yeah, that's my bad. Yeah, I just outed myself. It's in chapter two. It's gotta be in chapter two, right?
SPEAKER_02Um unless it's in, I think. Um there it is. Firstborn of the dead, in him the fullness of God, through him, reconcile. Anyways, you're listening to us try to find a passage that we can't remember exactly where it's at. But the point is that he he made a show of them in defeat. He humiliated it, the the the enemy and the sin and the devil and all of that in in this victory that he won on the cross. Yeah. What's that saying in Corinthians? It's him taunting him. Where you at, Death? Absolutely. Where you at? You ain't got this, right?
SPEAKER_03And he's pointing back to two Old Testament passages to confirm this. He's like, listen, these have been fulfilled.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Death, that victory was won by Christ on the cross. Yeah. So now we can even rejoice with Hosea and be like, hey, Def, where's your victory?
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Where's your sting? Like that stinger was removed. And I think like helping people understand that um, like we live in Las Vegas. Yeah, we have scorpions.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_03A scorpion with a stinger removed is still scary, but it's not as deadly with its stinger. Yeah. So it's like, yes, we we live in this tension of this already not yet. Death has been defeated. Like that that victory is won. But we still go to funerals. Yep. You know, we still uh suffer the pains of having to go through death and all of this stuff, but we have the hope in Christ that we can worship with that more fruit is to come. Exactly.
SPEAKER_02Death has no sting. What was the sting of death? Sin. Yep. What made death so hurtful? Sin did. Yeah. Why does death hurt? Why do we mourn? Why do we grieve? Why do we ache? Why does it painful? Was this God's intention? From the beginning, no. Sin entered the world. And because that death came upon all men, so that the sting of death is there because of sin. So what has to be removed is sin. And when sin is removed, the effects of sin is removed. Yeah. That's why Christ had to rise from the dead. He could not just die and say, sin has been removed. The only evidence that we have that sin was removed is if the effects of sin was defeated. Amen. Death was defeated. Therefore, we can conclude sin was removed. Therefore, we can conclude if we belong to Christ, that's our future. Thanks be to God. He gives us the victory.
SPEAKER_03And the way that Jesus does this is masterful because he does it because the power of sin is the law. Yeah. So he comes and fulfills the law. Like he he is the perfect embodiment of everything that needed to be fulfilled in the law. And then he defeats death and or or he, you know, does not sin. He does this perfectly. And then he defeats death, giving us the victory. It's like, you know, we get the belt that he won.
SPEAKER_02Here's the cool thing about this. And it's a lit, there's a living illustration in my head right now, because I was just in Nepal at this place called, I can't say it right, so if you know this, it's Pash Pashupattanath. It's a Hindu temple right along the Bagmati River where Hindus take their dead loved ones, they prepare their bodies, and then they set them literally right there in front of everybody on a pile of wood and they burn their bodies. And I'm I have video of this body went from the cleansing to the carrying over to laying on the wood to starting it on fire and it burning there. And then they take all of the ashes of that body and they sweep it into the Bagmati River because they think that's how that person is going to be reincarnated. So their hope of life after this death is the hope that maybe they were good enough to come back as a cow or I don't even know what the theology of Hindu is here. I don't think they know what the theology is, but the belief that they will be reincarnated back into another life, that is their hope. There's no sting removed from that. Right. There's just this vague hope on passed down traditions from their ancestors that have grown up in that land. There's no hope in that. That doesn't offer this offers hope. It does. If there is hope that because Jesus died and rose again, the sting of death is removed, sin is overcome. There is death, yes, but that death is a pathway into future glory that is awaiting for us. How else do we respond but to worship God who gives us the victory?
SPEAKER_03Amen. But I think a lot of people view death as just a transition.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Oh, I'm just going from one state to another state, forgetting that there's a sting that's attached to death because the verdict is against a holy and unrighteous God to where, I mean, a holy and righteous God to where, you know, that's that penalty needs to be paid. Yeah. And it's not as though, oh, I die and I just transition and all that stuff. Like, no, there's a consequence for the sins that I've committed. Sure. Sure.
SPEAKER_02And then, I don't know, Dom, you're leading the state.
SPEAKER_00No, I'm not. It's okay. It's kind of took on a formal. It's great, man. I love it. Uh yeah. I think, as like a I don't know, first generation Christian, I'll just talk on my point of view on that. Is that like fighting from a position of victory, I think is is one of the closest things that I hold to me every day. Like I just think it's the coolest thing. I think it's it helps us have yeah, hope, freedom, peace, strength, and endurance. Like it's just one. Like it's one, it's over. Like, yeah, and I'm gonna do my best, and it's not gonna be enough. Yep. And then, but it's still one and I can't do anything, and he did it all. And I just like there's literally nothing like it. I just try to encourage our students all the time with that. Like, you are fighting from a position of victory if you are in crisis. That's right. And it is the most unbelievable thing. So that's all I had to add.
SPEAKER_02So we got hope and we've got worship. So let's put the car in neutral and let's coast to the finish line. Absolutely not. That is not what he says. That's what mindset we go, right? That's logic.
SPEAKER_03Oh man, this is crazy. I'm good.
SPEAKER_00I'm gonna just sit back and he uses a strong word. What does he say? Go ahead.
SPEAKER_03He says, therefore, like my beloved brothers, like we need to be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that our work in the Lord is not in vain. And and this is the part that I think is the crux of even the entire chapter. Like, Paul is laying out this argument on the resurrection, defeating all of these uh heretical claims that, oh, you know, the body is evil and you know, uh, there's no resurrection. But he is saying, listen, use all of this as motivation to continue working. Like keep going, be steadfast. Don't be moved with this, you know, airish doctrine. Like stay rooted. Yeah, have your confidence in this in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Don't move from that. You know that this is fact. This is not some fiction or some fable that is being, you know, cleverly devised. Like this is the real truth. You go talk to the people. Yeah, like you know this is true. So he's like encouraging them more and more to continue to do the work, even though their body is flawed, it is decaying, it is corrupted. But it's like, listen, we have hope and we worship the victor, and we can continue to work in this obedience, knowing that our work is eternal. This is the gold, the silver, the precious stones. This is not wood, subble, and hay. Because we are in Christ, we can continue to move forward in the work that he has called us.
SPEAKER_00I feel like Paul would be the best pregame speech guy. Like he gives you hope, then he gives you, then he gives you worship. Then he's like, be immovable.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Like I'm like, I don't know if I ever heard the word immovable before I started reading the Bible, but immovable, man, like that if that doesn't fire you up, yeah. Like, come on.
SPEAKER_02Well, here's the thing I think too is like uh fighting from a place of victory does not, should not, if truly understood, lead a person to coast or indifference. It should lead you to a place of harder work. So it's like it's like this the fields are white to harvest. What does that mean? Well, that means work has been done, seeds have been planted, growth has been happening, water has been falling. So he's not calling people to go to a field and start breaking it up, plant seeds, and then water it. He's like, that work's been done. Right. I'm I'm telling you that there is a crop of souls to be harvested for my kingdom. All I'm asking you to do or inviting you to do is go bring them in. Go bring them in. Yeah. Why? Because I'm saving people. So does that mean the farmer or the harvester or the laborer is the one that's saving people? No, God is the one saving people. And we've been invited. So here's here's what we're saying. Am I fighting to have hope, to work harder that he may be pleased with me? No, I'm working because I know it's not in vain. Right. There are people God is going to save, there are people being added to the kingdom. I'm living for his glory. I'm striving for something that is already promised to happen, but I get to be a part of this. Like, talk about living your life for something that has value and weight and eternal. But if if I'm striving from a place of I don't know if I'm gonna win this battle or not, we're going to feel defeated and give up. Right. Because we're gonna be overwhelmed by the by the enormous task at hand. But if I know the end of the story, and the end of the story is victory's there, power's there, the kingdom is built, Christ is winning, you're gonna be raised to newness of life. I'm gonna say, okay, cool, let's go. I've got lots of energy for that because I know it's worth it. There's nothing, there's nothing more disheartening than to work for something that you question whether or not it's worth it. Right. Why am I doing this? Is it worth it? Why am I building this? Is it is anybody even ever gonna live here? Am I ever actually gonna even finish this? But when you are working from a place of yes, it's worth it, the labor is not in vain. There's going to come a day of reckoning and glory and resurrection. So keep on working. So for us, keep on living for Jesus, spreading the message, um, living for righteousness, glorifying him, being faithful to what he calls us to. Why? Because it's worth it. Resurrection is coming.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. Um, so there was this quote by William Carey that I put in my message, and I love it. And my wife reminded me, I we I see it almost every day because she has it in our bathroom. And uh the quote by William Carey is this I'm not afraid of failure. I'm afraid of succeeding at things that don't matter. And we as Christians are doing the thing that are that that is of the utmost importance. We are, you know, preaching the gospel. We are making disciples, we are doing and abounding in the work of the Lord. And it was cool looking about um William Carey's history. Like he was a missionary that had a passion for India. And he wasn't good at preaching, but he was good at translation work. And he continued to labor at this and not being concerned if he would fail at this, but he was like, No, I want to be able to succeed at things that really matter. And this is the thing that matters making sure that God's word is in the people that don't have access to it.
SPEAKER_02There's all kinds of jokes I have right now for that quote being in the bathroom, but we're gonna leave that be. You might need to cut that part out of the podcast. So, but that's great, bro. I like absolutely is absolutely right. Great, great quote from William Carey. But yeah, dude, I just think, man, what a cool passage. This whole chapter. And he's about to change this next week. We're gonna jump into chapter 16 and kind of bring this thing home over the next couple of weeks. But man, Paul, led by the spirit, masterfully brings about the hope and motivation connected to the resurrection. So I'll have to listen to your sermon. I bet it was good. Yeah, I mean, you you pretty much just preach it.
SPEAKER_00That's good. Yeah. Um yeah, I mean, it's great. I can't wait to turn into 16. I mean, man, first Corinthians has been a journey of a lot of great and unbelievable things and just truth of scripture and taking hard topics but seeing the big idea in them. Um so yeah, this was a sweet text to get to, kind of like you were saying. I think even for like we're talking about tongues one week, then we're talking about uh divorce one week, and it's like, oh the death's dead, baby. Let's go. So we made it. Um I don't know how you guys want to close up.
SPEAKER_02Let me just say, let me just say this to kind of enclose. Um thanks, Chuck, for preaching. Um, I I'm thankful that I was able to go where I was able to go to. Let me just put a plug that I think will segue some of this. God is at work in the world, people are being saved. Um in Nepal, this is a um, this is a an unreached nation, which means that it's like 90 uh less than one percent evangelized. So here's here's the reality of what Nepal was I saw was you cannot, if you were a person living in Nepal and you said, I want to know more about Jesus, there's not a church that you know of that is in existence that you can walk down the street and go to. We were driving through the city of Kathmandu, and there was we didn't ever pass a church. We know of a couple of churches because you know we were with uh uh a local guy there that was a pastor, but you couldn't. So you are taught Hinduism or Buddhism, and that's just what you are. Your village is that way, your neighborhood is that way, your family's that way. And here's what's happening is that it's unreached, and it's also a persecuted church area. So if you get voice of the martyrs or the persecuted church, some sort of updates, Nepal is one of those places. And that means that Christians are not just a minority, they are a persecuted group. They are beaten, um, they are killed for their faith in some extreme instances. It's actually illegal in Nepal to try to convert somebody to Christianity. So I don't know all what happens to individuals who do that, but that's that's passed not too long ago. So what but what's happening is that God is saving people in unbelievable ways. Just bold witnesses going into villages where nobody believes and preaching the gospel and somebody getting saved, somebody having dreams, multiple testimonies was that God showed up in a dream and that m spurred them on to seek out Christ and ultimately end up getting saved. And now they're pastoring a church in Nepal. On and on and on. One man This guy that God has used significantly in Nepal was headed to a garbage dump to commit suicide and found a gospel tract left by a Baptist group, read the gospel and placed his faith in Christ, and now has been one of the key instruments in the gospel taking root in Nepal in this movement. I was there and there were 19 pastors represented at this retreat. Some of those pastors traveled for four days on foot and bus to get to the retreat, and then four days back to their homes to get there because God is at work. It is unbelievable. So when we read something like, hey, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, we often interpret that from a Western United States context of, oh yeah, sure, I'll keep putting gas in my car and driving to my air-conditioned building in my soft chair. And I'm and all of that's fine. I'm not trying to make anybody feel guilty about that because that's what God has blessed us with. But when you go and see this at work in a place like a closed country with persecution and a vast minority of people who are walking one hour to go to a small group meeting to sit on the floor of a sheet metal room and talk about Jesus and sing and pray together and then encourage one another to go back to their villages where they are the persecuted minority to live for Jesus. That changes. Amen. That changes. And why do they do that? Because there's hope that one day there's going to be a return of Jesus and a resurrection of the bodies. And Hinduism can't offer that. Buddhism can't offer that. Christ is the only one who can offer that. So from our context, let's be faithful, let's be immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, not because we want to be pleasing to God, but because we are identified with Jesus and our work is not in vain. And then be confident that God is working in the harvest. There are people to be saved, and we get to step into that work and take part in the unbelievable experience of having this front row seat of watching God at work in our world. Amen. Let's go. We're some walls to run through. I think we need to. Awesome. I'm going to let Chuck pray us out today since he was the most recent sermon preached and I didn't listen to it. If you would, Chuck.
SPEAKER_03Yes. Father, we are grateful that you have called us to this work. Um and God help us not to grow weary in it. Help us to work as unto you, Lord. Uh Father, we're thankful for the opportunity that Pastor Andrew got to go to Nepal and minister to other pastors. And we just pray for the people of Nepal. Lord, we pray for that 420 window to where you are reaching more people. Um God, may your work continue to abound in that area. Lord, thank you for just the blessings that you have had here at Life. And we we pray that we continue to be a church that knows Christ and makes him known and disciples our people well. Um, Father, thank you for the hope that we have in you and you alone. Thank you that we get to worship you freely. And dear Lord, help us to be obedient, knowing that our work is eternal. Father, we love you, and we pray all this in your son Jesus' name. Amen.
SPEAKER_00Thanks for listening to the podcast. You can check out our latest sermon at lifebaptistchurch.com. We can't wait to see you this Sunday.