Have you ever read? The book How Not to Die, It's
out there, How Not to Die. Is it?
Possible that your own. Social media feed could be.
Categorized as how not to die. Maybe that only happens when you
hit 50. 7. You start to get all of these
ways to keep. Living and live on and on.
Apparently the. Billionaires want to live to 150
and they're trying to get there, but the.
Reality is is much observed through.
Our lives and through literature and.
Others is that we all share a. Common destiny This is what the
writer of. Ecclesiastes says.
So just to make it really easy, could you turn to your neighbor
and say we? Share a common destiny.
You know, this is the thing. We're we're all.
Going to die. It goes on in Ecclesiastes to
say for the living know that they will die, and then it says,
but no one knows the hour that it will come.
Some people say of Christianity. Oh well, it's Christianity is
just another. Answer for not dying.
That's not completely accurate. But it is death that.
Causes us to puzzle over our lives.
And the older you get the. More you realize that.
It seems to be. On the horizon, somewhere out
there. But it's the.
Resurrection of Jesus that changes our perspective about
death. And even grief, and even how we
live in. Light of that.
You will remember. That we said that.
One of the major. Themes of spiritual maturity.
Is learning how to. Give your life away.
It is the resurrection of Jesus that tells us that.
That's OK. Because in the process of giving
your life. Away you will discover Good
Friday. You will discover moments that
feel like death, moments where you're having to hold so much
intention that it feels like death.
This. Is not what I want.
But this is what is needed so I can.
Give my life away. But then in that.
Process. You have the hope and purpose
and. Energy and power to do.
So as a follower. Of Jesus because.
Of the resurrection of Jesus and so.
We've we've been celebrating the resurrection.
Of Jesus. This is the 5th.
Sunday of Easter. We are an Easter.
Tide of the Christian Calendar and Paul.
Writes to the church in. Corinth, the church.
That he had spent 18 months, maybe even 2 years with sharing.
His life and the gospel and. He's.
Writing from Ephesus, not. Too long after he had left.
From there about the resurrection of Jesus and he
says. So it will be.
With the resurrection of the dead, the.
Body, that is. Sown is perishable.
It is raised imperishable. It is sown in dishonor.
It is raised. In Glory.
It is sown in weakness. It is raised.
In power. It is sown a natural body.
It is raised a. Spiritual body if there.
Is a natural body. There is also.
A spiritual body. So it is written the first.
Man, Adam. Became a living being.
The last Adam and by this. He means.
Jesus, the last Adam. A life giving spirit.
The spiritual did not come. First but the natural, and after
that the spiritual, the first man.
Was of the dust. Of the Earth.
The second. Man is of heaven, and so.
As. Was the earthly man.
So are those who are of the earth.
And. As is the heavenly.
Man, so also are those who are of heaven.
And just as we have been. Born the image of the earthly
man. So we shall bear the.
Image of the heavenly man I. Declare to you, brothers and
sisters, that flesh and blood. Cannot inherit the Kingdom of
God. Nor.
Does the perishable inherit the imperishable?
Listen. I tell you A.
Mystery we will not. All sleep, but we will all be
changed. In a flash in.
The twinkling of an eye. At the last trumpet for the
trumpet will sound. The dead will be raised
imperishable and we will be changed.
For the perishable must. Clothe.
Itself with the imperishable and the mortal with immortality when
the perishable. Has been clothed with the.
Imperishable and the mortal. With immortality, then the.
Saying that is written will come true.
Death has been swallowed up in victory.
Where? O death is your sting.
Where O death is your victory? Where O?
Death is your sting. The sting of death is.
Sin and the power of sin is the. Law.
But thanks be to God, he gives us the.
Victory through our Lord. Jesus Christ.
Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm.
Let nothing move. You always give.
Yourself fully to the work of the Lord.
Because you know that your labor in the.
Lord is not in vain. Most of us at 20.
Spend little. Time thinking of death.
We might have encountered death along the way.
Because a grandparent. Or a family.
Member was ill. I have a friend.
Who never experienced the. Loss of a family member.
Until he was 35, he found it utterly.
Shocking, but it is. Death that betrays.
US. It is death that shows us the
frailty. Of our own bodies.
Paul uses the. Language here of A.
Seed that's. Sown in the ground.
Likening the body to a seed, he said this body enters the
ground. Perishable in, dishonor in.
Weakness. A natural body.
How many of you? Have taken up already our book
of for the summer, our summer reading challenge.
Theo of. Golden, I highly recommend it to
you because it will deal. With the major issues.
Of our lives and in a conversation.
With Theo and Asher we see. Them Speaking of death, Theo.
Asked what if your parents? And Asher says, well, my dad
died not too long ago. He was sort.
Of a soft spoken, melancholy soul himself.
But he was a good man, a good dad.
He lived with me and Brooke at the end of his life, my mom.
Died a few years ago of Alzheimer's.
I. Was fortunate I was always able
to spend a lot of time with her especially.
Toward the end of her life, her mind was really.
Gone and. She said some bizarre.
Things, but she never got mean. Like some people do.
When they get that disease, it was hard on us to watch her
trickle away and it pretty much broke us financially, but I'm
glad. I was here up to the very end.
She. Seemed to enjoy painting.
It is death and the frailty of our body that exposes.
Our frailty. But it is the resurrection that
reveals. Our future.
Paul says this death in the ground is not your full.
And final destiny. You are more.
Than just a body. Buried.
In the ground or. Rendered unto dust.
Dust. To dust, he says.
We're more for. Our future is real, revealed by
the resurrection, and first and foremost, he would say it's
revealed by the resurrection. Of Jesus.
So he says it is. Written the first.
Man, Adam. Became a living being, do you
know? What Adam means?
Born of dust, dirt creature. And it's not just Adam, it was
Eve as well. They're a dirt creature.
I know you're just longing. To tell your neighbor you are a
dirt creature. Dust to dust a dirt creature.
This is the words that we mark at the beginning of Lent, which
moves us towards the the death of Jesus.
In the 40 days of Lent we actually recall and remember we
are dust and. To dust we will return.
We do try to. Paint it up.
Thank you for the physics folks who tell us you are Stardust.
But we are still. Dust.
But the resurrection reveals our future, he says.
We are buried, but we're raised in perishable.
We're buried, but we're raised in glory.
We're buried, but we're raised in power.
We're buried, but we're raised with a spiritual body.
You might remember that in our reading.
This morning where Martha? Tells Jesus, Jesus, if you had
been here, my brother would not have.
Died. And Jesus goes on to tell.
Her well. You know your brother will live.
And she gives her expectation. She says yes.
I know my brother. Will live again at the
resurrection, and so within the Jewish.
Frame of mind. There was an expectation that
there will indeed be a resurrection, that we are all
raised to judgment before. God.
And that we are all raised to give an.
Account of our life for our life is more than just flesh and
blood our life has a spiritual and soulish quality about it and
so. She affirms that she.
Says I know. That my brother will rise again
at the resurrection. At the end that Jesus goes on to
tell her what? Don't you also?
Know that I am the resurrection and the life, and that he who
believes. In me shall never.
Die but though they. Die they shall.
Live and so therein. Is a differentiation between our
common destiny. The common.
Destiny of all humanity is that we shall die, that we shall be
raised for a judgement. But there is another quality to.
Those who are in Christ, Jesus asked her, do you?
Believe this. Wow, can you?
Imagine meeting Jesus and 3 minutes in the conversation he
says Do you believe this? This is the question of Jesus
about our lives, our death and our eternity.
Do you believe this? So Adam, the first man was a
living being, the last Adam, a life giving spirit.
That is Jesus the spiritual. Did not come.
First, but the natural and after the spiritual, the. 1st.
Man was of the dust of the earth.
The second man is of heaven. Our future is revealed in the
resurrection of Jesus. The resurrection of.
Jesus, though, is sometimes a contested event.
Do we really believe that Jesus was raised from the.
Dead in fact in First Corinthians before.
We get to this bit. Paul speaks to the facts.
About the resurrection of Jesus. And he establishes that there
are many eyewitnesses to the bodily resurrection of Jesus.
He says what I received I. Passed on to you as a first
importance. That Christ died for our sins.
According to the scriptures. That he was buried and that he
was raised. On the third day, according to
the scriptures that he. Appeared to Cephas, who is
Cephas Peter, and then to the 12:00 and after that he appeared
to more than 500 brothers and sisters.
At the same time, most. Of whom are still living.
Though some of them have fallen. Asleep.
Then he appeared to James, and then to all the apostles.
And last of all. He appeared to me also.
As one abnormally born, Paul was fairly humble about his own life
and seeing Jesus. But he says I met the
resurrected Jesus, and so these testimonies to the physical.
Bodily resurrection of Jesus say this was not just a mysterious
spiritual event, but instead this was an extraordinary event
in which something changed forever between.
Heaven and earth and Hades, we picture this.
With a lot of different. Art, but here's.
An Eastern Orthodox icon. Called.
Anastasis, which is the. Greek word for resurrection and.
There you see Jesus. On the Saturday, maybe.
Even Friday, but they consider it the harrowing of.
Hell on Saturday where he. Bangs on the gates of Hell.
He bangs on the gates of Hades of Death.
Do you see the 2 gold bars? That's the Gate of Hades.
And he's stomping on them. Breaking them open and you can
see his Cape, sort of. Flying up behind him.
All heroes have capes, do they not?
But there his robes are, fluttering up behind him as he's
breaking the gates of Hades down.
And who has he? Taken hold of.
Adam and Eve. My artist here on the front row,
knows his art. That's Adam and Eve.
And he's grabbed hold of them to bring them up from the depths of
the grave. This is.
The work of Christ. That if we are in.
Christ. We are raised with Christ.
And so in baptism we celebrate this moment buried with Christ
in. Baptism, but.
Raised to walk in. Newness of life For now, I.
I was buried into the death of Christ for the forgiveness of
sin, but now I'm raised to walk in.
New life for eternity because I serve a resurrected and living
Lord. There is so much available.
To us, in the symbolism of this art, we'll get our artist to do
a study of it and a little workshop maybe.
Thank you, Aiden, for just saying yes.
But you know, the the Corinthians, they didn't have
the same problems about death. That we have or.
Even about the resurrection, The Corinthian.
Concern was to contemplate a philosophical problem between
spirit and flesh, soul and flesh of.
What could be compatible? And they had it in mind that it
was incompatible. To have a human.
Body because they viewed it as. Somehow lesser and as unholy.
And they had absorbed their. Cultural conversation about this
and they. Could not imagine at all that a
human body could be transferred into a heavenly space.
It did not compute. They could not make sense of it
and. Apparently this.
Issue arose again as. Paul had left, and now they were
inquiring. Paul could.
You tell us a little more about this resurrection.
And the resurrection life. How is this possible?
And so he's trying to tell. Them that though they live.
Now in the age to come, the resurrection fully of.
All will come, and those who are in Christ will be transferred
and transformed instantaneously in their bodies.
He says so. It will be with the resurrection
of the dead. The body that is sown as
perishable, it is raised. Help me.
It is sown in dishonor. It is raised in.
It is sown in weakness. It is raised in.
It is sown a natural body. It is raised a if there is a.
Natural body There is also a spiritual body when we
contemplate. The resurrection of Jesus and
his body. We know that it was different.
It was a physical body. He could eat the fish and eat
the bread. He could be poked.
They could find the hole. In his side and Thomas could
have stuck his finger in it. But we know that Jesus moved
about mysteriously and appeared in front of them.
His body and. Its ways were different.
So. He says I declare to you.
Brothers and sisters that. Flesh and blood cannot inherit
the Kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the
imperishable. Listen.
I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we
will all be changed. In other words, he's saying
there will be a generation that will not die.
They will not sleep. There will be a generation who
are living, who experience the arrival and.
Return of Jesus Christ. But for those of us who did die,
whose bodies are. Asleep.
He would later say to be asleep or dead is to be with the Lord,
but he's saying your body is asleep, there'll be a moment of
change. We will all be changed in a
flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.
A trumpet. Of judgement the trumpet will
sound, the dead will be raised in perishable.
And we will all be changed. And so he's laying it out there,
this. Is your concern.
But you will be changed. I wonder, though, if there's a
word in here for our problem, our concern.
Is does faith in the resurrected Christ really matter for living
well today? Most.
Of us are not heavenly minded. We're not worried about death.
But we're wondering. Is it essential that?
Anyone and everyone know Jesus in order to live well in the
eyes of God. Does it?
Really matter that much in fact, we might wonder it about
ourselves if we. Start to wonder if following.
Jesus is becoming costly and we're having to hold some things
in tension, like I want to be married, but I want to marry a
Christian. I want this to happen in my life
but. It seems like this is not
happening. In my life and I feel
disappointed or I wanted. I'm wondering if following Jesus
is supposed to make everything so much easier in my.
Life. But right now things are
difficult in my life. For those who follow Jesus in
places where death seems to surround.
Them where injustice and. Evil sins to surround them.
They may wonder, does it matter? Now that I'm really following
Jesus, it seems like the evil people live such easy lives.
Does it? Matter now.
I think Paul would say it does for he.
Says when the perishable has been closed with the
imperishable and the mortal with the immortality, then the.
Saying that is written. Will come true death?
Has been swallowed up in victory.
He's. Quoting from Isaiah.
Isaiah and Hosea were. Contemporary prophets and they.
Could see on the horizon that Israel was in trouble because
they had been breaking the covenant of God.
And they they could both see on the horizon the Assyrians were
coming death. Was coming.
Death. Destruction and.
Evil was coming. To Israel, they could see it.
But they could also see. Beyond it the promise of God
where? Death could be swallowed.
Up where a banquet feast could be spread for all the nations.
Where every tear would be. Wiped from the eyes of those who
shared that meal with God. And so he says, the moment.
Will come when death has been. Swallowed up in victory.
Where O death is your victory? Where O death?
Is your sting and I think he would.
Say to us, we still experience. The sting of death.
We still experience. The fear of death.
It comes to us. In guilt and shame and just
being afraid. What are you afraid of?
For some of us to. Face what we're.
Afraid of means we. First have to answer the
question of. What am I so angry about?
Because. Underneath that anger resides.
The fear. The fear is that oh.
I might be embarrassed. The fear is that oh.
My guilt might show. My fear is that there is no
justice in this world. My fear is that I'm not.
Going to have the right kind of job my.
Fear is that someone might look at me.
And judge my life and say unacceptable.
They're innumerable. They are.
All evidences. Of death for the.
Sting of death is. Sin and the power of sin is the
law. This inability to attain all of
the. Standards of God or of others?
Of our parents. Or even ourselves until he would
say, yeah, the resurrected Christ really does matter for
you today, knowing. And following the resurrected
Christ really does matter. Jamie Winship shares.
That he was in. Indonesia, having been invited
into a large. Rave big.
Party and the two main DJs had accepted Jesus and the kids who
had LED them to Jesus said we think you should start to tell
other people about Jesus. And they said well we're going
to have a big crowd together. You should come and talk to them
about Jesus. So at some point in the night in
this large facility, the music shut down and.
One of the guys said we have a. Friend here.
Tonight, who wants to speak to you Handed?
Him the. Mic.
And he said, in summary, this was my message.
I told them a story and then I told them well.
There's demons out there that. Want you, and you're all going
to die. And then he sat down.
He says it didn't feel like my greatest moment, but I didn't
know what else to do. So I told them a story and I
said there's demons. Out there that want you.
And you're all going to die. In the follow up of that night,
hundreds of people turned their lives over to Jesus.
Does the resurrected Jesus really matter for UBC?
For Vancouver? Some of my friends in Haiti
would say that they found it so strange that people run, that
people jog one of. Them shared that they had seen a
person running down the street and they they got them and drove
up and rolled down their window and caught up with them and said
is someone after you are are you OK?
And they're like. No, I'm just out running, but I
promise you. That there is a marathon.
Being run that none of us can outrun none.
Of us will outrun death. None of us.
But who is waiting for you? The moment your body stops, it's
Jesus if you. Have entrusted your life to.
Jesus, he says. You will never die.
Oh. So though my.
Body like a seed. May perish.
I will never die. Do you believe this?
If so, then rise up, rise up, church, rise up, he says.
Stand firm, let nothing move. You always give yourselves fully
to the. Work of the Lord.
Because you know that your labor is not in.
Vain. In summary, he says stand firm.
He says give yourself fully to the work of the Lord.
Do you believe this? Then give yourself fully to.
The work of the Lord, I promise you, the work of the Lord
includes. The sanctification of everything
God gives you to. Set your hands and mine to.
Jesus made breakfast for his. Friends, it was the work of the
Lord. Jesus served in the carpenter's
shop. For 17 years.
Before he began his ministry, it was.
The work of the Lord. Jesus worked.
Out how to teach. With the genius of.
God, it was the work of the Lord, for you know that your
labor is not in vain. That word vain vanity means.
Empty. Your work is not empty.
Because. The tomb of Jesus.
Is empty. Instead, your work is full and
purposeful. Because Jesus is full and
purposeful with life abundant. Do you believe this?
Heavenly Father, we just set our lives before you and we pray
that as we get. Ready to come to?
Your table We would come with the faith of Isaiah, who foresaw
a day when the banquet. Table of God.
Would be spread out, and people from the north and the South and
the east and the West would join there as the large family of
God. And so we come with a foretaste.
Of that table prepared to us with the.
Body of Jesus, and with the blood of Jesus.
Oh Lord, the empty tomb testifies to the power of God to
make our lives full and meaningful forever.
And so we celebrate Jesus today, and we consider.
The little. Shadows of death, where we need
to see your light and your presence.
The little. Fears that interrupt us when
we're experiencing a great joyful moment and then just
leaping into our mind. Is that?
But don't get too happy because. What if?
So, Lord. Jesus, we know that we live in
the shadow of death, but we pray that even there we would know
your goodness and your light, for you make even darkness your
light, so as we come to your table.
Lord, we surrender our. Lives to you once again and we
say, would you come and meet us and transform?
Our fear, our guilt, our shame. And replace it with immense
trust in you, the immense truth of having been forgiven, and the
immense truth of being loved by you.
Come, Lord Jesus, come.