It's good to see you guys today. My name is Kyle.
If you're visiting today with thank you for being here.
If you have your Bible, you can open the First Corinthians
chapter 15, First Corinthians 15.
We'll be there. This will be our final week in
First Corinthians 15. So over the past, I guess, few
weeks, we've been walking through what you might call this
glorious chapter. It's a glorious chapter because
it describes for us the resurrection and all that it,
all the benefits of it for us. And in this chapter, Paul's
shown us the necessity of Christ's resurrection.
He also has shown us the nature of our own resurrection and the
hope that flows from those truths.
But as he concludes the chapter, Paul lifts our eyes, if you
will, to final victory, the moment when death itself is
swallowed up forever. So this passage takes us from
the struggle of life, at which we'll talk more about as we go.
It takes us from the struggle of life to the certainty of victory
through Christ. And it'll be a good journey.
All right. So if you would, would you
please stand? Alan, you just said stand again.
First Corinthians 15, verses 50 through 58 will be our text this
morning. Paul writes in verse 50.
I tell you this, brothers, 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 trumpets.
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.
Oh death, where is your victory? Oh 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.
This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you
for your word. We thank you, Father, that you
have spoken to us by your Spirit through the pins of your chosen
men. And Father, what we have here
are the words of eternal life. What we have here are the words
for our sanctification, for our growth and godliness.
And so, Lord, help us not be hard hearted towards your word
this morning. Would you please soften our
hearts and our spirits to receive Your word with
Thanksgiving. It's a planet deep in our hearts
and spirits that it might. Bear fruits.
In this life and also in the life to come, as we'll see this
morning, my father, we are grateful to be gathered together
with one another, brother and sister in the Lord, to hear from
your word. And so help us to tune our
hearts and minds, our ears into it this morning.
It's in the name of Christ, I pray, Amen.
Amen. You may be seated.
There are few things, just a few things in life that feel as
final as death does. Every funeral we attend, every
grave we pass, every sickness that weakens the body, reminds
us that death seems to have the final word.
It seems to have the final word, but it seems to win in the end.
And if you think about it, death interrupts marriages, Death
separates families. Death silences voices that once
brought us great joy. And from the moment that sin
entered the world, death has had a perfect record.
Every man and woman born of Adam eventually returns to the dust,
but Paul closes this magnificent chapter by showing us that death
will not have the final word. Christ will and then.
The gospel doesn't simply offer us comfort in the face of death.
It declares victory over death. That's that's more than comfort
in the face of death. Now, it does bring comfort, but
there's a declaration of victory over death here in First
Corinthians 15 through Christ's resurrection.
What we see and what we have seen in this chapter is that the
curse is broken, the grave has been conquered, and the end of
our story is not decay, brothers and sisters, it's glory.
The end of your story is glory. When Paul writes these words,
he's not speculating, right? He's speaking as one who is
filled by the Spirit of God to pin these words for the Church
of Corinth first, but that believers throughout time and
history may be able to find great encouragement in these
truths. It's not speculating about what
might happen someday. He's not telling the
Corinthians, hey, this may take place, This might be what it
looks like. I don't really know, but this
may be something to look forward to.
No, he he writes with periods, not with question marks.
He writes with a pen of finality and not of indecision, right?
He's declaring wholesale truths for us, truths you can take to
the grave quite literally, and truths that will raise you one
day. He's proclaiming what will
happen for every believer united to Christ Jesus, and what began
with an empty tomb is going to end with a trumpet blast and the
transformation of all who belong to Christ.
This passage is the high points of First Corinthians 15, and I
would argue there's been a lot of high points.
But Paul's drawing us to a close in praise.
He's drawing our hearts upward. He's helping us to look forward
to a day where death will lose its sting, where death will hold
no victory. It's the high points.
It's the crescendo of resurrection hope.
But Paul doesn't end with some abstract theology, right?
I want you to understand this morning that what Paul writes
with his great clarity, he's not ending with some distant
prophecy that we can't understand.
No, he writes with clarity. He ends with a call to
endurance, a call to press on, a call to move forward.
He ends with a call to faithful ministry in the presence.
Whatever it is that God's called you to do, whatever it is that
whatever the lot is in life that God has granted you, Paul is
saying, because of these truths, you can endure.
You can press forward. What Paul shows us in this
passage today is that what we believe about the future shapes
how we Live Today. What we believe about the
future, what we believe about what's to come, shapes the way
that you organize your life today.
It shapes the way that you Live Today.
It shapes the way that you build patterns, rhythms, disciplines
in your life. It ought to shape those things.
What you believe about the future is either in one sense or
another, it's informing how you live right now.
So if you're wasting your life, if you see it as something
that's just to be used up and spent for your own good and your
own glory, then that shows. That reveals what you believe is
to come one day. However.
If you spend your life wisely, if you spend it with purpose and
intention, if you're a disciplined man or woman, if you
exercise self-control, if you live for the glory of the Lord
and not yourself, you're seeking to build His Kingdom, not your
own Kingdom, Then that also reveals what you believe about
the future. But what's?
To come. The.
Message of this passage. It's all quite simple, and yet
it's unshakeable. If you're taking notes, you can
write this down. Because Christ conquered death.
We can. Live with steadfast hope and
labor with enduring faith. Because Christ conquered death,
we can. Live with steadfast hope and
labor with enduring faith. That's the main point of the
passage this morning. As we study the text, we're
going to see 3 truths that carry us from despair to victory.
They carry. Us from uncertainty to
steadfastness. The first truth we're going to
see is that is the transfer. Sorry the transformation we
need. That God.
Will change our mortal bodies to fit us for an eternal Kingdom.
The second. Truth, we'll see, is the triumph
Christ secured. Through.
His death and resurrection. Jesus has swallowed up death
forever. And then the third truth that'll
be revealed is the tenacity that we're called to.
The tenacity we're called to. Because of Christ's victory, we
can stand firm and abound in His work.
So number. One the transformation we need
look again at verses 50 through 53.
I tell you this, brothers, 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 trumpets. 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. So, Paul?
Begins by reminding us in verse 50 that our present condition
that this is these are the things that he just talked about
in verses 35 through 49 in the sermon last week.
All right. So it's going to be a bit of of
summary here. He's.
Reminding us that our present condition is not suited for the
world to come. All right, I'll.
Tell you this, brothers, flesh and blood cannot inherit the
Kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the
imperishable. Of the.
Phrase flesh and blood here. Refers.
Not simply to physicality. It's not simply about your
literal flesh and blood. Rather, it's a reference.
To your. Mortal decaying condition.
Humanity, as it exists in Adam, is weakened by sin and subject
to death. The present order that we know
is fragile and fleeting. It cannot inherit the eternal,
incorruptible Kingdom of God. And so that means that our
problem is not that we are physical beings.
God created us physical beings. That's not a problem, that's a
blessing, right? Our problem is not that we are
physical beings, but that we are perishable beings.
That. Because of the sin of Adam, we
will perish. So.
Heaven, then, is not merely an improvement on this life.
Sometimes. We think of heaven as just like
all the best of this life, and that's all that'll exist.
Will. Exist in a place where we have
all the best things of this life.
No, it's so much more, Revelation promises us.
That it's a. Completely renewed creation.
That. Christ is making all things new
in the new heaven and new earth, and for us to share in that
glory, you too, we must also be made new.
The. Perishable must become
imperishable. The corruptible must become
incorruptible, and so Paul is exposing our deepest need here.
Our. Deepest need is transformation.
The. Bodies that you have now are not
suited for a fallen world. The bodies.
We will have must be suited for a redeemed world.
And what Paul is showing us is that that transformation will
not come by self efforts. The world spends a ton of money,
a ton of research, a ton of time in trying to convert the mortal
into being immortal, does it not?
I mean, we do all sorts of things to try to preserve.
Life. And yet here we are in the year
of our Lord 2025, and death still comes.
Death. Still reigns over us.
It's not going to. Come through self effort.
It's not going to. Come through gradual reform.
But what Paul's showing us is that the transformation will be
the work of God himself, that this is the only way it can
come. Through the work of our Lord, so
every. Wrinkle.
Every ache, every sign of aging, every diagnosis that reminds us
of our weakness. All of these are witnesses that
testify that we need something more than repair.
We need resurrection. And then in verse 51, Paul
discloses a divine secret. Behold.
I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we
shall all be changed. The word mystery, when you see
it in the New Testaments, it doesn't describe something
mysterious or puzzling. You may think of Ephesians 5
where Paul writes about marriage and talks about this mystery of
marriage, and all that transpires in it is a revelation
of the gospel of Jesus Christ. When we see the.
Word mystery. It's not something we can't
figure out. Rather, it refers to a truth
that was once hidden in God's plan but now revealed in Christ
Jesus. It's.
The truth, right? It's not something.
We can't figure out. So here's the mystery that Paul
lays out. Not every believer is going to
die, but every believer will be changed.
Whether we sleep in the grave or we live to see the trumpet
sound, all of us must be transformed.
And Paul elaborates in verse 52 when he says in a moment, in the
twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet.
So the change will be instantaneous in a moment.
This comes. From a Greek word which means an
indivisible instant, an indivisible instance, the
twinkling of an eye captures the speed.
Right the. Blinking of your eye and the
last trumpet marks this climactic moments of Christ's
return. Now I want you to understand
when Christ returns it will be a public cosmic event.
It's. Often thought that it'll be a
secret escape. But the.
Truths of Scripture revealed that it'll be a royal
declaration that the King has come.
The dead. In Christ will rise
imperishable, and the living will be transformed to match
their glory. And then in verse 53, he
concludes this portion of our passage with this For this
imperishable body must put on the I'm sorry, for this
perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal
body must put on immortality. Do you see the word must there?
I don't have. To explain to you what must
means, right? Even children, you understand
when your parents say you must clean your room.
It's not a suggestion, all right?
It's a command. And here it's a promise must
indicates divine necessity. This is not an optional thing.
Brothers and sisters, the very bodies that now tire and decay
will put on, they must put on. And so they will put on
immortality. They'll put.
It on like clothing. Paul doesn't say we will discard
these bodies, but that they will be clothed in glory.
They'll be transformed from frailty to permanence, from
corruption to splendor. And so this is the final stage
of God's redemptive work. What?
Began with justification and continues in sanctification.
Will. Culminate in glorification.
The same power that raised Jesus from the dead will raise and
transform your mortal body. And so this ensures both
continuity and renewal, right? You will still be yourself, but
you will be completely freed from sin and decay.
You'll be conformed to Christ's glorious body.
I read it last week, but it's worth reading again.
Philippians 320 through 21. But our citizenship is in
heaven, and from it we await A Savior.
The. Lord.
Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like His
glorious body by the power that enables Him even to subject all
things to Himself. If you'd like to hear more about
that, you can come listen to Jo Loniger who preach this evening.
God's. Plan was never to save souls
only. God's.
Plan is to redeem whole person's body and spirit for eternal
fellowship with him. So what does that?
Mean for our lives. What are?
We supposed to do with these glorious truths, right?
I mean, that ought to be a question we ask.
Why is Paul teaching this? Well, this.
Truth changes how we live, and it changes how we suffer.
Every limitation you feel in your body, every doctor's
visits. Every.
Moment of pain or fatigue. Every loved 1 you lay in the
ground reminds you not just of your mortality, but of your
coming transformation, that these things shall not last.
And so I urge you, don't cling to what is passing away.
Fix your hope on what is imperishable for those that are
in Christ. If you're a believer, the worst
thing that can happen to your body is not your end, but your
beginning. The grave.
Is not your conclusion, rather it's your cocoon.
So take. Courage.
Take. Courage and weakness endure
trials with hope long for the day when, as Paul says, what is
mortal is swallowed up by life. We'll come to our next truth,
the triumph. Christ.
Secured. We see the triumph Christ
secured in verses 54 through 57, when the perishable puts on the
I'm sorry, Yeah, when the perishable puts on the
imperishable and the mortal puts on immortality, then she'll come
to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up
in victory. Oh, death.
Where is your victory? Oh 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.
So, Paul? Is moving now from the promise
of transformation. To the.
Triumph that makes it possible in verse 54 he says when the
perishable puts on the imperishable and the mortal puts
on immortality then. You get to.
Make note of the word then then shall come to pass the saying
that is written, death is swallowed up in victory.
The word. Then marks the completion of
God's plan. When the transformation of verse
53 is completed, prophecy will have been fulfilled.
Paul is quoting prophecy here. He's quoting Isaiah 25, eight,
where the prophet foretold of a day when God would swallow up
death forever and he would wipe away tears from every face.
So in. Christ's resurrection.
That. Promise began right but at our
resurrection. That.
Promise will be finalized. Death.
Will not merely be restrained. Brothers and sisters, we're told
here that death will be consumed by our Lord Himself.
The. Enemy that has devoured every
generation will itself be devoured.
In verse 55, Paul takes the prophetic declaration and he
turns it into a victory taunt. I love it when my men of God and
the Scriptures begin to taunt evil.
Oh. Death, where is your victory?
Oh, death, where is your sting? Paul's mocking A defeated foe.
Yes, it's true that the the grave may still claim bodies.
But it can. No longer claim victory.
For. Those that are in Christ, death
has been defamed. It can.
Hurt us, and certainly it's a hurtful thing to lose a loved
one, is it not? It can cause great pain and
great grief. It can cause remorse.
It can cause you to reflect on what should have been, what
could have been. It'll cause you to.
Ask all sorts of questions. It'll cause you to doubt the
goodness of God. Like.
Death still stings, and so it can hurt us, but it cannot.
It cannot hold us. The grave.
Can sting, but it only stings for a moment.
Because. It no longer has the poison of
eternal separation from God. In verse 56, Paul explains why
the sting of death is sin and the power of sin is the law.
So death. Sting, it's fatal wound is sin.
We die because we have sinned. Romans 623 For the wages of sin,
the payment of sin is death. Very good.
It's death, do you remember? The remainder of Romans 623 But
the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
We die because we've sinned. Sin gains its condemning power
through the law, which rightly exposes our guilt.
We talk about the law. We're talking about the commands
of God. If you don't.
Have a full understanding of God's commands in the Old
Testament. You might think just merely of
the 10 commandments. What we?
Know about the law. What we see about the law, what
we can testify to be true, is that the law is holy.
It's holy. It's.
Holy because it's God's. It's wholly because it's God's
commands. It's utterly unlike ourselves.
It's. Utterly against everything that
we are. The law is also just now a just
law is a. Terrifying thing for an evil
doer, right? When the laws are upheld justly,
that is meant to terrify evil. Like even in the even in the
worldly sense of the government. Romans 13 reveals this.
But here we're talking about God's law being just if God's.
Law is just and God is holy, and we are unjust and unholy.
We're not going to fare very well in the final judgments, are
we? The other.
Thing you can say about God's law besides it being holy.
And just as you can say that it's good, it's good that you
should not murder, it's good that you should not steal, it's
good that you should not have other gods above God.
It's good that you should not or that you should keep the
Sabbath. It's good that you should not
commit adultery. It's good that you should not
dishonor your parents. It's good that.
You shouldn't covet or lie, bear false witness against your
neighbor, right? These are good things.
None of us look at that and say that's that's not good.
Those are evil laws. We.
Look at that. And we say these are good laws
and if we lived in a land where people actually kept those
things. This would be a.
Sweet place to live. Would you understand that a good
law is not good for those who are evil?
If our nature is corrupt, and it is, then good laws expose evil.
Good laws expose hearts that want their own good, that seek
their own desires. And so because we are sinners.
The law. Being holy, just and good
because we are sinners, the law now condemns rather than
comforts. The law holds up a perfect.
Standard that none of us can meet, and thus sin reigns and
death follows. Now to.
Remove death's sting. Sin.
Must be forgiven. To remove.
Sin's Power. The law.
'S demands must be satisfied. And this is precisely what Jesus
Christ did through his life. He fulfilled the law.
He was perfect. It's the only unjust death,
truly unjust death in the history of mankind.
But through His death He bore. Our curse.
He takes our sin on himself. Our sin is imputed to him so
that his righteousness might be imputed to us.
Because through his resurrection.
He breaks the chains of death over us.
And so now you can see what Paul in verse 57 sums it up in this
cry of praise. Now again, he's coming to the
end of chapter 15. So he's taking all these things
into account and he says, but thanks be to God, who gives us
the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
And to that we can all say Amen. You see the?
Verb gives. There is present tense.
Thanks be to God who gives us the victory.
God. Continues to give this victory
to all who are united to Christ. This isn't a past thing, this is
a continuational thing. God continues to give the
victory to all who are united to Christ by faith.
You see the? Victory is not earned.
The victory. Is not even achieved by us.
The. Victory is merely received.
It's received by faith. At the.
Cross Jesus takes the full weight of the lost curse.
He bears your sin, He satisfies divine justice, and he rises as
the first fruits of a new humanity.
The. Resurrection is not just proof
of his power, it is the declaration of His triumph.
And so because he lives, we can attest with the Scriptures that
sins debt is cancelled, death's dominion is ended.
Death may still strike, yes, but it cannot conquer any longer.
Its sword has been broken at the hilt by a risen Christ.
And so believe her. Listen to me, listen to Paul.
You no longer need to fear death.
You no. Longer need to fear death.
For those. That are outside of Christ.
Death. Remains a great terror.
And you have. Every right to fear death.
In fact, if you're not fearing death, that's a really foolish
place to stand. But for.
Those who are in Christ. Death.
Has become a doorway in the glory when you attend a
Christian funeral. You're not.
Witnessing defeat. You're.
Witnessing a moment between two victories, Christ's resurrection
behind us and ours ahead. Every grave of a believer.
Is a seed planted in hope. It's awaiting the great trumpet
call. And so do not despair as the
world despairs. Do not grieve as the world
grieves. Sing Paul's words over your
fears. Oh, death, where is your sting?
Let that confession. Be your.
Comfort and sorrow. Let that.
Confession be your courage and suffering.
The victory has been secured by our Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen. Thirdly.
We see the tenacity we're called to in verse 58.
The. Tenacity.
We're called to. 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. Paul has.
Described the transformation we need.
He's. Described the triumph that
Christ has won. And now he ends this great
chapter with a call to weakness. No, he ends it with a call to
perseverance. He he's calling therefore.
My beloved brothers, be steadfast, be immovable, always
abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord
your labor is not in vain. He's calling us to perseverance.
The word. Therefore is key.
Paul. Is too high.
He's tying theology to life. These.
Things go together, right? The theology, the things you're
learning about what the Lord has accomplished and what that means
for you now means something for the way that you live.
It means you are to persevere. The resurrection isn't meant to
stay in the clouds of speculation, brothers and
sisters. It's called down from heaven,
and it's meant to land in the soil of obedience.
Because. Christ has secured a victory.
We can live confidently, not fearfully.
We can live steadfastly, not sporadically.
And so Paul first calls the Corinthians to be steadfast.
I'm sure. You have an understanding of the
word steadfast, but in case you don't, it means firm, it means
settled. It means I like this one
anchored. It means anchored.
All of those things mean not easily shaken, not easily
shaken. It speaks of an inner stability
that's rooted in the gospel. Be steadfast in your
convictions, Be steadfast in your faith, be steadfast in your
love for Christ. The winds of the world will blow
like crazy, and they'll seek to toss you to and fro, but the
resurrection fixes your anchor deep.
And so then he adds immovable. Paul's.
Piling on words here, but they're not meaningless words.
He's wanting to make a clear point.
Be steadfast, be immovable. So if.
Steadfast describes the hearts. The posture of our hearts.
Then immovable describes the posture of our spirits.
It's the posture of our life. It's a refusal to drift.
It's a. Refusal to be pushed off course.
Right. Don't be moved by opposition.
Don't be moved by weariness. Don't be moved by the lure of
worldly ease. No, the empty tomb of Christ
assures that the gospel you labor for is not in vain.
You're laboring for a gospel of victory, brothers and sisters.
And so Paul urges next always abounding in the work of the
Lord. Be steadfast, be immovable.
Be always abounding in the work of the Lord.
Abounding means overflowing. It's really fun.
When your children start to want to do things on their own.
Right. Show a little.
Independence. It's one of the things though,
they're happy to learn how to do, and it's not really that
they want to be taught at all. It's just that they want to take
the bull by the horns and do it themselves.
And one of those things is they'll go get a cup from the
pantry. We'll grab.
A massive jug of sweet tea. Because this is the South,
right? We'll set.
The cup on the counter and they'll begin to pour.
With no. Indication that they have any
idea that that cup is being filled until the cup's
overflowing and it's like Oh my gosh all.
Right, the Cup. Is abounding.
It's overflowing. Overflowing means not doing the
bare minimum. You take that small little bit
of sweet tea and get it out of my face, right?
Want a cup that's overflowing, abounding, not doing the bare
minimum? You may ask, Well, what is the
work of the Lord? How am?
I to abound in the work of the Lord.
What am I? To abound in.
Well. The work of the Lord.
When Paul writes that it's an all-encompassing term, it
encompasses everything that's done in His name.
Everything. That's done in his name, so.
It could be. Evangelism could be telling
unbelievers about the gospel, imploring them to believe it's.
Could be. Discipleship.
Or you're taking someone who's professed faith in Christ and
you're teaching them how to obey the commands of the Lord.
Could be service, finding ways to serve your church, finding
ways to serve your Co workers or your neighbors.
Could be mercy, right? Someone's.
In need and so you show mercy to them in some way.
Could be. Prayer.
All right, I'm going to write this down.
I'm going to remember that so and so asked me to pray for them
and write it down. I'm going to pray for them.
Could be parenting. Lord knows it's parenting, all
right. Could be marriage always
abounding in the work of the Lord in marriage.
Learning to be a godly husband. Learning to be a godly wife.
Learning to put Christ first in all things.
Working. Through difficulties and strife
and struggle to glorify the Lord and to leave a legacy for your
children and grandchildren. Could be.
Hospitality, thanking God for the home you have, not the home
you wish you have, and opening the doors of that home.
Setting. Extra seats around the table
inviting people in. And it's so much more than those
things. It's not even scratching the
surface of the things that the Lord's likely called you to do
in your life. What Paul wants the believers in
Corinth to understand, and what the Spirit of God wants you and
I to understand, is that the resurrection doesn't make us
idle dreamers, but we're just always dreaming up some good
work we could do and never actually doing a thing.
That's the way of the sluggard. You see the sluggard in
Proverbs. He lays in his bed, He tosses
and he turns. He says things like this cup is
too heavy to bring to my mouth. He dreams of going outside, and
yet he sees a line in the streets.
And so he returns to his house. We're not called to be.
Idle dreamers. We're called to be diligent
workers, men and women of God who apply ourselves with
diligence. With.
Perseverance with steadfastness, being immovable, always
abounding in the work. Of our Lord the more.
Certain we are of the end. This is what Paul believes.
That's what you and I need to believe, that the more certain
we are of the end of all things, the more active we become in the
Presence. If your.
Theology of death. Leads.
You to never do anything. It's a bad theology.
But if your. Theology of death and the
resurrection leads you to become immovable, to be steadfast and
always abounding the word of the Lord.
Then it's a good theology. Finally, Paul gives the reason
for such perseverance knowing. If you're not opposed to writing
in your Bible, you may underline the Word knowing there, knowing
that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
That word. Knowing is so crucial.
Knowing implies that it is not wishful thinking.
I hope that this is good. I have.
Dreams about it being good, you know that it's good, you know?
That your labor. Is not in vain.
And so you labor for the Lord, and all things you have a
settled confidence. I know this.
Paul So. Believes in the resurrection,
that he's encouraging the Corinthians in this.
Because. Of the resurrection.
Every act of faithfulness matters to God.
Every act of faithfulness matters for eternity.
Every act of faithfulness is meaningful.
It's not meaningless. Nothing done for Christ is
wasted. Maybe you don't.
Get the outcome you want. So what?
It's not wasted. Nothing done for Christ is
forgotten. Nothing done for Christ is even
fruitless when you serve quietly, when you persevere
through discouragement, when you give yourself to the church and
to your family and to your community in the name of Christ.
None of it is in vain, not one bit of it.
It's all meaningful. It all matters for eternity.
The resurrection of Jesus not only secures our future, it
sanctifies our presence. It gives eternal significance to
temporary work. Well, I'm only.
Here for 60 or 7080 years, maybe by reason of strength.
What can I? Do that matters for eternity?
What? Can't you do?
The. Lord has given you a divine
imperative here to go and be immovable, be steadfast, always
abounding in the work of the Lord.
These things matter, So what can't you do?
That's a better question. What's God called you to do it?
Do it with. Glad hearts do it with joy.
Do it. Knowing that those things that
work for the Lord is not in vain.
Brothers and sisters, this is what separates Christian
perseverance from worldly ambition.
The Worldly. Ambitious will do great things.
They will you go look at Michael.
Jordan's career and say man, he was great.
He's worldly. Ambitious.
It's. Admirable.
It's inspiring even in some ways.
Notice I didn't say LeBron James.
OK? It's the only Amen you've given
all morning, all right. But this?
Is what separates Christian perseverance from worldly
ambition. Guys like.
Jordan and even LeBron, if you hold him that high, labor not to
build or labor to build their own legacy.
They labor to be the GOAT. But we.
Labor not to build our legacy. No, it's not about our legacy.
What? When?
I encourage you to love your wife and your children so that
you leave a great legacy. I'm not talking about your
legacy. I'll talk about a.
Legacy that honors the Lord. A legacy where children grow up
in a home where Christ is praised.
Christ. Is magnified Christ is
glorified. And so they go on to marry
someone who's going to help them magnify the Lord, and their
children are going to magnify the Lord, and they'll go on to
marry people who will magnify the Lord.
You see what I'm saying? That's the legacy.
The legacy is how high can we exalt Christ?
How great. Can we make his name not our
name? How many of you remember?
Maybe some of you do. All right, but I'm going to
throw this out there. How many remember the names of
your great, great grandparents? Great, great.
All right, there we go. It's a couple of you who've done
some sort of ancestry work. Or you had.
It passed down. The point is, is after a couple
of generations, your name's typically forgotten.
So why labor? So hard to build your own glory,
only to have it pass away as it ought to labor to build the
glory of the one who's never passing away.
Labor to. Build the glory of the one who
will always be exalted, who will always be magnified and
glorified in the heavens and the earth, and one day every knee
will bow and every tongue will confess that Christ is Lord.
That's worth giving. Our life to that's a legacy
worth leaving. We labor not to build our own
legacy. We labor to honor our risen
Lord, whose Kingdom will not, cannot fail.
So, Paul? Is telling believers here stay
steady. Be.
Unmoved. Keep laboring.
Don't lose hearts when ministry feels unnoticed or exhausting.
Don't lose heart when your life feels unnoticed or exhausting.
Don't give up when obedience is costly.
Be unmoved. Keep laboring.
Stay steady. Christ's victory guarantees that
your labor will echo in eternity.
If death itself cannot make your work vain, then no hardship can
make it vain either. The.
Resurrection doesn't call us to retreat and to hide in holy
huddles or holes. No the.
Resurrection calls us to abound in every good work because
Christ is victorious. Your steadfast faith and your
faithful labor will one day share in Christ's glory.
So, Paul? Began this chapter with the
Gospel. That Christ.
Died for our sins accord in accordance with the Scriptures
that he was buried and that he was raised on the third day in
accordance with the Scriptures. And he ends by showing us what
the gospel produces. Transformation, triumph,
tenacity. The resurrection is not merely
something we affirm. It's not a true.
It's not simply a truth we affirm.
The. Resurrection is something we
live by. It's a.
Truth that transforms us. It means that the worst enemy
has been defeated. That the.
Greatest fear in our life has been silenced and that the
surest hope has been secured. And so for the believer.
For the one. Who has set his affections on
Christ? This is.
Your anchor, death will not touch you forever, meaning death
cannot hold you. The grave may take your body for
a time, but Christ has already claimed your soul for eternity.
Therefore, stand firm in the faith.
Be immovable when trials come. Don't grow weary in the Lord's
work because none of it, none of it, none of it, none of it is
wasted. Every.
Prayer that you offer, every act of service, every tear shed, and
faith will be gathered and rewarded when the trumpet
sounds. And so you may not see the fruit
of it now, but your risen Lord sees.
Your risen Lord sees all of it. He remembers every moment of
your life, and so he will one day crown your labor with glory.
So believer. Lift your eyes above the decay
of this world. And fix.
Them on your victorious savior. Let his.
Resurrection make you courageous in the face of opposition.
Let His resurrection make you patient in the midst of
hardship. Let His resurrection make you
hopeful even at the edge of the grave.
Live and labor as someone who knows how the story ends,
because you do. You do.
Know. But if you're.
Here today, and you're without Christ.
If you. Remain outside of him.
This. Victory is not yours.
Not yet the same. Death that has lost its thing
for the believer still holds its venom for the unbeliever apart
from Christ. Death is not gain, it's
judgement. You will.
Stand before a holy God, whose law you have broken more than
once, and whose justice you will not escape, and yet the same
God. In Ephesians. 2 Paul says the
same God with great love has sent his Son to bear your sin.
He sent his own son to fulfill his law.
He sent his own son to rise again to give you life.
The victory that Paul is celebrating here can be yours,
but only by faith in the risen Jesus Christ.
So I. Urge you to come to him today.
I urge you to turn. From your sin to trust in a
Savior who died and rose for you.
The grave. No longer has to be your end.
The sting of sin no longer has to define your life.
Christ. Is offering you this day
forgiveness. He's offering you peace and he's
offering you offering you the promise of resurrection life.
So please. Do not leave today still
clinging to what's perishable. Still.
Hoping that you'll be the first one to prove God wrong.
Come and take hold of what is imperishable.
Take hold of the eternal life that is found only in Jesus
Christ. You see, this resurrection hope
is not just a future hope. It's a present.
Call. It's a.
Summons for everyone to come to Christ.
Because Christ lives. You can live differently today.
You can live with new life, with a new heart, with a new spirits.
And one day, when the trumpet sounds, all who are in him will
rise victorious, never to die again.
And to tell that day, brothers and sisters stand firm.
Stay. Faithful abound in the work of
Christ. For your.
Risen Lord is worthy of all your steadfastness.
He's worthy of all your service. He's worthy of all your song.
And remember, because Christ conquered death, we can live
with steadfast hope and labor, with enduring faith.
Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you
for the truths First Corinthians 15.
I recognize that I am unable, incapable even, of adequately
giving you the glory you so deserve in these truths in this
chapter. But I'm.
Grateful for it I'm. Grateful.
For these truths, it's my hope. That all.
Who have heard them will believe them, will trust that they're
true, and that they'll live lives for your glory, for your
name's sake, as they too become immovable and steadfast, as they
too abound in every good work that you have granted.
And so, Lord, as we come to the end of this chapter, would you
examine our hearts by your spirits?
Would you? Purge us of anything that is
unclean in US. Purge us of anything that is
false within us. Show us, Lord.
Where we have so doubted the resurrection.
That we've. Tried to make ourselves
immortal, or we've acted as though we are immortal already
and Lord would you grant us a. Heart of.
Confession grant us a heart of faith.
Grant us a heart of praise this morning.
Lord. If there's anyone in here who
doesn't know you, who's not yet set their faith on you, their
hope on you, who's not yet believed in their heart and
confessed with their mouth that Christ is Lord.
Or I. Ask you to save them by your
spirit, that you would draw them to new life, that they would
believe in their heart and confess with their mouth that
Christ is Lord, that He rose from the dead.
Grant them repentance and faith, Father.
Let me give you a. Moment there in your seat to
pray and to seek the Lord. However.
It is that the Spirit's leading you in this moment.
Heavenly. Father, we thank you for your
saving grace. We thank you for your marvelous
mercy. Which we've.
Received in Jesus Christ our Lord, Help us, Lord, to be
obedient. Help us to see that we are
merely branches attached to the vine and not vines ourselves.
Lord, help us to walk in obedience as those who love
Christ, who want to honour Him, bring glory to His name.
It's in the name of Christ I pray.
Amen.