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Introduction:































































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What Happens to Me When I Die?

2 Corinthians 5:8 - ...we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.



When Do these Resurrections Take Place?

Acts 24:15 - ...there will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust.



What is the Resurrection Body Like (1 Corinthians 15:35-49)?




    Your body now is like a "SEED" , your resurrected body is like a "PLANT". (1 Cor 15:36b-38)





    Your resurrected body will be SIMILAR but DIFFERENT but BETTER . (1 Cor 15:39-42a)





    Your resurrected body will never have EARTHLY WEAKNESSES . (1 Cor 15:42b-44)


    4 Contrasts Between Your Earthly Body and Your Resurrected Body:



      PERISHABLE vs. IMPERISHABLE





      DISHONOR vs. GLORY





      WEAKNESS vs. POWER





      NATURAL vs. SPIRITUAL






    Your resurrected body is just like JESUS' glorified body. (1 Cor 15:45-49)


    Philippians 3:21 - who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body...





















Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
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Unified and Purified: We Will Be Raised in a New Body

Jeff Miller







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    Audio Transcript












    00:05

    Open up those Bibles with me please to 1 Corinthians chapter 15.

    00:11

    If you don't have a Bible, you're welcome to take the one in the seat back in front of you.

    00:17

    I know that's got like microscopic font. I think there's bigger print ones in the shelf in the very back.

    00:23

    Oh, Jane Hour got it. Alright. So if you want a bigger print Bible, you've got to wrestle Jane Hour for it.

    00:30

    Oh, okay, there's more back there. Okay, you don't have to, you don't want to do that anyways.

    00:34

    So, but please consider it our gift to you if you don't have one. So, speaking of, I'd like you to just stop for a moment and pray for me to communicate God's Word as I should accurately and clearly. And I will pray for you to have a heart open to receive what it is the Lord tells us in His Word.

    01:04

    in this portion we're looking at today. So let's pray. Father in heaven, as we turn to this portion of your word, there's such great encouragement for what you have promised. There's also challenging conviction. Your word says that when we have this hope, we purify ourselves as you are pure. So I pray, Father, that this Yes, would be informational in the sense of correcting wrong thinking that we have carried. But at the same time, Father, use this to motivate us to use the short time we have here on the earth to make an impact for your kingdom. We thank you ahead of time for whatever it is you're going to do here, Father. We pray in Jesus' name. When all of God's people said, Excuse me. Amen. 1 Corinthians 15, are you there? Back in 2009, Heidi Montag, who is one of the stars of the TV show The Hills, she was 23 at the time, 2009. She had 10 plastic surgeries.

    02:35

    in one day.

    02:39

    Ten plastic surgeries in one day.

    02:45

    You got questions?

    02:47

    I got questions.

    02:49

    Like, ten?

    02:52

    What all did she have done?

    02:53

    Well, she had her brow lifted.

    02:57

    She had Botox.

    02:59

    She had her nose done.

    03:01

    She had fat injected into her cheeks.

    03:04

    and lips. She had her chin done. She had her neck done. Liposuction. Isn't that when they take the fat out? But then it was put into her cheeks. So just like one hose. All right. I don't know. Look, I've never had plastic surgery, but you probably knew that.

    03:34

    You're like, I sure hope you didn't pay for that look. Anyways, she had her ears pinned back like a Doberman. She had her waist, her hips, and her thighs done and some other things. Ten surgeries in one day. You got questions? I got questions. How much does something like that cost? Well, I had to Google that. I have no idea. I don't know what the going rate is now, let alone what it was in 2009.

    04:04

    It cost her, they say, about $30,000.

    04:12

    How long does that take?

    04:16

    How long does all that stuff, it was 10 hours of surgery.

    04:22

    You know what my question was?

    04:26

    Did anybody recognize her when she got home?

    04:29

    Could you imagine?

    04:30

    and she leaves in the morning and she's like, I'm going to have some surgery. Then she comes back, a completely different person. Like, hey, I'm home. And they're like, ah, who are you? Like, it's me. It's me, Heidi. You know, groundhog, we didn't recognize you. I mean, we do all kinds of things to try to keep this young and from wearing out. And look, maybe plastic surgery is not.

    05:00

    your thing. Maybe it's exercise. I was going to ask for a show of hands, but I think to save all of us from embarrassment, myself included, we won't do any hand raising here. Okay, at least for this part. But do you have an exercise equipment graveyard in your basement? Do you remember things like the ab circle? Do you remember the ab circle? The bow flex, the toe flex, The Total Gym. How about the Thighmaster? You old enough to remember the Thighmaster? Squeeze, squeeze, squeeze your way to firmer thighs. Well, maybe it was just the exercise method, right? Because we've got Pilates, we've got yoga and Zumba, P90X, Insanity.

    06:00

    T25. You ever done this program? I've done Insanity and T25. And let me tell you, that is for the birds. For the birds. And I was like really into it for a while. And my wife was like, are you doing that exercise thing where you dance around the living room like a ninny? I'm like, well, I guess not anymore.

    06:31

    Okay, like, you can get the body you've always wanted. Get the body you've always wanted. The problem is you're not going to keep it forever. 1 Corinthians 15 is all about the resurrection. Jesus and ours. The Bible says because Jesus rose from the dead, Listen, I think so many people sitting in churches miss this truth. You, too, are going to rise from the dead in a new body. Now, if I told you, hey, next week, you're going to get a new car. But here's the deal. This car, this is the only car you're allowed to drive for the next 40 years.

    07:30

    car it is? Wouldn't you want to know what it's like? You mean I'm stuck with this car for four decades? Yeah. What kind of car is it? Tell me about it. I want to know all about it, right? Right? Well, the Bible says you're going to get a new body that you are going to have for all of eternity. Would you like to know what this body is like?

    08:00

    of eternity. So, we've got a lot of information here. Again, in this chapter, Paul packs so much information. And we're going to be going through it very quickly. So, you might want to listen to this again when it's on our website or podcast or whatever. You might want to pass this on to someone else. So, I encourage you to jot some notes down. First question, we're just going to take a step back here and kind of this whole thing. The first question is, what happens to me when I die? What happens to me when I die? And the reason we're starting here is like, look, okay, we got resurrection. Okay, but like, it's obviously not immediate. So, what happens to me when I die? Well, the Bible never talks about limbo or purgatory or soul sleep. The Bible never talks about that stuff. The Bible is very clear. If you're a believer in Christ, when you die, you are immediately in the presence of the Lord, right?

    09:00

    2 Corinthians 5 verse 8 says we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. Paul says something very similar to this in Philippians 123.

    09:14

    He said to depart is to be with Christ.

    09:20

    Right? So if you're a believer when you die you are in the presence of the Lord.

    09:23

    Your spirit is. And if you have not received Christ you go to a place of torment called Hades, where you are awaiting the final judgment. All right? But the Bible promises that eventually, eventually, everybody, everybody will get a resurrected body. Everybody gets one. Like, well, when do these resurrections take place?

    09:57

    Here's the next question on your outline. Understand again, the Bible is crystal clear and consistent. It teaches many times there are two resurrections. Okay, there are two. Acts 24, 15. There will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust. Right? We talked about that before. Daniel 12, 2. Jesus said it in John 5, 28 and 29. There are two resurrections. Okay.

    10:27

    First, I want to talk to those who have trusted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, those who are born again. The Bible says you will get your resurrected body at the rapture. Now, we're not going to get too deep into this now because next week the whole passage is about the rapture. But at the rapture, when Jesus returns to remove His people from the earth, believers up to that point, dead or alive, will get a new resurrected body.

    10:57

    about that next week. Those are for believers. For those who have rejected God's gift in Jesus Christ. For those who are like, I'm living life on my terms. I don't want Jesus. I don't want anything to do with God. It's truth. Worship, I don't want anything to do with that. There's a resurrection for unbelievers too. Again, timeline in your Bible. There's a seven-year tribulation coming, talked about in the book of Revelation. At the end of that, Jesus comes back, strikes down all who rejected Him, and He sets a thousand year kingdom on the earth. Jesus will reign on the earth for a thousand years. Revelation chapter 20 says, at the end of the thousand years is the second resurrection. Again, you can read that later. Revelation chapter 20. After the thousand year reign, all unbelievers, all unbelievers of all time are called out of Hades. They're called before the great white throne.

    11:57

    of Jesus Christ where they will be sentenced to the lake of fire. So, believers will get an eternal body to enjoy in heaven and unbelievers will get an eternal body that will suffer in hell, the lake of fire. Alright? So, the real question of the day that's addressed in this text, and we kind of did an on-ramp here to get to this point, But the question that is addressed today is, what is the resurrection body like? I'm going to be driving it for eternity? What's it like? What's it like? Well, we talked about this before. In the Corinthian church, there were a lot of resurrection deniers. A lot of the Greeks denied that there was such a thing. So, Paul anticipates the mocking questions that come. That's where he picks up in verse He says, but someone will ask, how are the dead raised?

    13:05

    With what kind of body do they come?

    13:08

    Again, those are mocking questions.

    13:13

    Paul's not anticipating as much the sincere can you please give us information as much as the people that are sort of making fun.

    13:21

    Like, how in the world are dead people raised?

    13:25

    Like, oh, you believe in resurrection?

    13:27

    What kind of body do they have? They're kind of making fun. Our day, like Paul's day, I found that some of the greatest theologians and Bible experts are people that have never opened the Bible. Have you noticed that? That was sarcasm. Because Paul gives them a hard rebuke, verse 36. He says, you foolish person.

    13:56

    Oh, you think you're so smart with your little questions. Oh, you're really stumped me. He goes, you're foolish. You're not even thinking. Look, I don't think there's anybody here today that's like that, that's like mocking. I don't think so. I'm sure there's somebody that's going to be listening to this online. I don't imagine there's anybody in the room right now that is scornfully asking questions like this.

    14:26

    But at the same time, when it comes to the topic, I do think there's a lot of confusion in the church about this whole resurrected body. Because I get asked these questions all the time. Pastor Taylor, you probably do too, right? People ask these questions. Will my new body look like my old body? Because that's important. Because what if I get to heaven and nobody recognizes me? But am I going to be able to recognize other people?

    14:57

    How old am I going to look? I mean, what if I live to be like 107? Am I going to look 107 for all of eternity? What about like, unfortunately, an infant who passes away? Is that person going to be an infant for all of eternity? Like, what does it look like? And then what about people that like aren't buried? You know, we're going to be talking about coming up out of the grave. What about people that aren't in the grave? Like, what about people that, I don't know, they fell overboard on a cruise and were eaten by a shark and they weren't buried.

    15:30

    What about those people?

    15:33

    Or what about people that maybe were incinerated in a fire and...

    15:41

    Well, Paul does such an amazing job in such a few words describing the difference between this vehicle we're driving today and the vehicle that we'll be driving someday.

    15:56

    So number one, what's the resurrection body like? What is the resurrection body like? Number one, he says your body now is like a seed and your resurrected body is like a plant. All right, look at verse 36. He says, What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. What you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel perhaps of wheat or some other grain. But God gives it a body as He has chosen.

    16:51

    its own body.

    16:57

    Your body now is like a seed.

    16:58

    Your resurrected body is like a plant.

    17:00

    Now if you have a seed in your hand, like, you know, it is the season, right?

    17:04

    I think of a watermelon seed.

    17:05

    Just imagine a watermelon seed.

    17:09

    You know, we've all seen those.

    17:10

    We've all spit those out.

    17:11

    Those little hard, brown, flat seeds, right?

    17:20

    When you put that in the ground, when you bury a watermelon seed, it rises up as something completely different, doesn't it? That's what Paul's talking about here. I mean, I'm not a farmer. You might want to fact check with Jesse on this. I'm not a farmer. I'm barely a gardener, as they say in Minnesota. I'm not. So, correct me if I'm wrong, but when you are going to plant something, you don't take a whole plant and bury it in the ground to get another whole plant.

    17:54

    The seed goes in the ground and dies and comes up as something different.

    18:01

    The seed that you bury is different than the plant that comes.

    18:08

    And we all get that, right?

    18:09

    You don't plant a watermelon seed, a little brown, flat, hard seed, and outgrows a big, a flat brown seed. That's just like it, only bigger. That's not how it works. It's completely different. But not completely because there's, in a sense, there's continuity between the seed and the plant, right? There's continuity. You know what I mean by that? I mean, if you plant a watermelon seed, you're not going to grow an apple tree.

    18:45

    Like, why not? Because God determined. Watermelon seeds only make watermelons. If you want an apple tree, you need to plant an apple seed, right? God determines. God has chosen the kind of body that everything gets. And you know what He has chosen for you? A glorified body. So that's Paul's first analogy here. He says, just look at your body.

    19:15

    And really all this is, is it's a seed that's going to be planted. And something that comes out is going to be different. You're like, how different? Well, number two, your resurrected body will be similar but different but better. Similar but different but better.

    19:44

    Let's pick up in verse 39. He says, For not all flesh is the same. There is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, the stars. For star differs from star in glory. So it is with the resurrection of the dead. Another illustration. Paul's like, look at the animal kingdom. Look at the animal kingdom. We have humans and animals and birds and fish, right? You've been to the zoo.

    20:44

    Notice how all animals have flesh, right? All animals have flesh. So that's like the same, right? But it's really not the same because the flesh of a fish is different from like the flesh of a groundhog or an eagle or a human. Why is that?

    21:16

    It's all perfectly suited for their respective environments. That's why. Why does a fish have the flesh that it has? For the water. That flesh wouldn't do any good on a bird. A bird has the flesh that it has so it can do the things that the birds do. It's all similar but it's different.

    21:45

    suited for the environment, right? Then he talks, he's like, let's get off the earth for a second. Let's talk about the sun, moon, and stars. All heavenly bodies, right? Now from earth, when we look up at the sky, what do we see? All these round, bright things. Some are bigger, some are brighter, but the sky is full of them. But did you know, like, even with the stars, each one is completely unique.

    22:14

    There aren't even two stars in the universe that are exactly the same. He says they're all different, but every one of these things in the sky does the thing that it's supposed to do, right? The sun to give us light and warmth, the moon for the tides, and the stars for whatever purpose God has for the stars. Same but different.

    22:45

    Perfectly suited for their purpose. And then Paul hits us in verse 42. He says, so it is with your glorified, resurrected body. How does it compare to this one that we have here? It's going to be the same, but it's going to be different. And it's going to be way better. Because this body, was made for the earth. But the new body is going to be made for heaven. Similar, but different, but better. Number three, your resurrected body will never have earthly weaknesses. Earthly weaknesses. Pick up in verse 42. He says, what is sown is perishable. What is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor. It is raised in glory.

    23:44

    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. Stop there. Your resurrected body will never have earthly weaknesses. Do you notice over and over and over again? Sown, sown, sown, sown. He's keeping this seed metaphor going because it's so appropriate.

    24:15

    You go in the ground. Your body is a seed. You go in the ground as one thing. And you come up out of the ground as something different. Something better. Something glorious. And here he talks about the earthly weaknesses that we will not have. So he gives four contrasts here. Again, it's all straight from the text. Your Bible says the same thing.

    24:44

    These are four contrasts between this body, this vehicle we're driving now, and the resurrected body that we're going to get someday. Letter A, perishable versus imperishable. Perishable versus imperishable. On your outline beside that, write the word decay. That's what he's talking about. Perishable. This body decays. This body is wearing out.

    25:16

    Dying you will die. Look, all of us, we're wearing out, we're decaying. I mean, you should have seen me when I was 20. I was well-built, good-looking, and you're like, what happened? Dying you will die. I'm decaying, and so are you. Versus imperishable.

    25:44

    The resurrected body, imperishable. You know what that means? It means all physical and mental health issues that we experience living in a fallen body are gone forever. That's what that means. No sickness. Your resurrected body will have no sickness, no cancer, no cerebral palsy, no multiple sclerosis, no muscular dystrophy, no diabetes, no asthma, no Alzheimer's.

    26:15

    No osteoporosis.

    26:18

    No arthritis.

    26:21

    No organ failure.

    26:22

    Nothing.

    26:24

    Your body will be imperishable.

    26:26

    It will not.

    26:27

    Wasn't it about this time in the first service?

    26:29

    People were just like coughing like crazy.

    26:32

    So we took a coughing break in the first service.

    26:36

    So go ahead.

    26:36

    If you get a cough, let her out.

    26:38

    Go ahead.

    26:43

    Go ahead.

    26:45

    I mean, get it out of your system. Because here's the thing, coughing is something you only enjoy on earth. Because at the resurrection, you're not going to cough. So live it up. There's no sickness. Your body is imperishable. No sickness. No pain. No pain. Imagine that. No pain. Can you think, like, what's the worst pain?

    27:14

    that you've ever been in in your life. I just want you to think about that for a second. What is the worst pain that you've ever experienced in your life? Men, have you ever had a cold? Because if you have, you know The peak of human suffering.

    27:51

    But pain's going to be a memory someday.

    27:54

    Think about that.

    27:54

    In eternity future, in our resurrected bodies, we'll be like, Taylor, bro, do you remember back when we had pain?

    28:02

    He's like, I barely remember pain.

    28:04

    What was that?

    28:07

    It's going to be history.

    28:09

    You'll never wear out.

    28:10

    You'll never grow old.

    28:11

    You'll never be sick.

    28:12

    Death itself is going to be history. Perishable versus imperishable. Letter B, dishonor versus glory. Dishonor versus glory. On your outline beside this, write sin. This is in regards to sin. The fall of man has saturated this earth with the corruption of sin. And our current bodies are are thoroughly affected by sin. Thoroughly. What did Paul say in Romans 7? I know that no good thing dwells in me, that is my flesh. That's what he's talking about. He says this, here, my spirit is renewed. I'm born again. God's Holy Spirit lives in here. But God's Holy Spirit lives in a body that still hungers for sin.

    29:13

    Hungers for rebellion against God. Everything we, listen, everything we do is tainted with some degree of corruption. You know, if we're being honest, even when I set out to do something good, There's always a little something in there that's just kind of selfish, like this is the right thing to do, this is a righteous thing, but there's something in me some shade of a is there a selfish motive here more spotlight for me little glory for me here selfish motive here you're that way too we all are There's nothing that we can do that is 100% free from the taint of sin. And that's what he's talking about here. The day's going to come when we're in this body, we have this new body, and there won't be any bent towards sin in this glorified body.

    30:43

    Weakness versus power. Beside that, just write the word strength. This speaks to strength. We are so weak. We are so weak. You're like, speak for yourself. I'm a strapping young lad. I'm not weak. Yes, you are. We're all weak.

    31:11

    We are all so weak. Not convinced? Strapping young lad? How is it that a virus that's so small that we can't even see it, it can knock you down for days? You think about that next time you're feeling strong. We're weak. And you know, you don't even need to be, you don't even need to be sick.

    31:41

    to feel worn out.

    31:46

    I can keep strange hours and I've had people ask me, like, do you ever, they're like, don't you ever get tired?

    31:53

    I'm like, do I get tired?

    31:56

    No, I do not get tired.

    32:01

    I stay tired.

    32:03

    You see, for me to say I get tired would imply that I'm starting from a platform of being well-rested and strong. I've never started from that platform. I just stay in this place of tired. I'm not proud of it, but there's many days that when I wake up, one of my first thoughts is, am I going to have an opportunity for a nap today? Anybody else? Okay, thank you. Just the people on this tired side.

    32:40

    of the room. These people don't get tired over here. Did you notice that? It's all over here.

    32:51

    Listen, your new body, he says, right, is powerful. No weakness, no weariness.

    33:00

    And letter D, natural versus spiritual. Natural versus spiritual.

    33:06

    We talked about this before. This is speaking to environmental suitability.

    33:11

    Your new body is going to be perfect for the environment that it is going to be in. Your new body will be visible. Yes. It'll be tangible. Yes. But it's not going to be subject to the laws of nature as we know it now. Like, what do I mean? Well, I mean, this body we have now, God designed, perfectly for the earth environment.

    33:47

    But, you could say we're a little restricted.

    33:50

    We're sort of hemmed in as a part of creation.

    33:56

    We're restricted in these bodies by pesky little things like gravity and time and air.

    34:07

    Those things kind of limit us in a sense. But our new bodies, our resurrected bodies are going to rise above the current laws of nature and time and space. And you're thinking right now, like what? And that's not the right question to ask. The right question isn't like what? The right question is like who? And that leads us to the last one, number four.

    34:38

    This to me is one of the most mind-blowing things in Scripture, by the way. He says, your resurrected body is just like Jesus' glorified body. Your resurrected body is just like Jesus' glorified body. See, Paul had this, he was using these metaphors with the seeds and the plants and the planets and the animals.

    35:06

    He's moving from metaphorical to literal now. He's going to be talking about our actual body. Look at verse 45. He says, thus, it is written, the first man Adam became a living being. The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first, but the natural, and then the spiritual.

    35:35

    The first man was from the earth, a man of dust. The second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust. And as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, We shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. Right now, Paul says, right now, we bear the image of the man of dust. That's Adam. That's us. We are people of dust. That's... I don't mean this as an insult. I just mean this as literal truth. Your body right now consists of a handful, of dust and a lot of water. That's all any of us are consisting of. I'm sure you're beautiful on the inside, but I just mean your physical body, your dust and water. That's what he's talking about. We bear the image of the man of dust. He says someday you will bear the image of the man of heaven. That's Jesus Christ. Here's what he's saying very clearly.

    37:05

    is just like Adam's. Our glorified body will be just like the resurrected body of Jesus Christ. The Bible is so clear about this over and over. Like here's another reference to that, Philippians chapter 3, verse 21. He says, Jesus, look at this, will transform our lowly body to be like His, Glorious Body.

    37:38

    And I just want to encourage you to go back in your Bibles this week.

    37:43

    Read Luke 24. Read John chapter 20. Read Acts chapter 1.

    37:47

    If you want to know like kind of what is our glorified body going to be able to do, look at the things that Jesus did in His glorified body.

    38:01

    Like for example, in Jesus' glorified body, He was recognized by sight and by voice and by His wounds.

    38:11

    And Jesus in His glorified body ate.

    38:16

    Will we eat in heaven?

    38:17

    Yeah, we will actually.

    38:19

    Not because we have to, but because we'll enjoy it.

    38:26

    That is according to Revelation 22 too.

    38:30

    But you notice, Jesus in His resurrected body wasn't bound by the laws of nature. He did things like disappear. He did things like move from place to place suddenly. The Bible says Jesus could walk right through the wall. Did you ever go through a wall? I have, but not like Jesus. But someday, we'll be able to just, transcend these kinds of rules that we know now, right? Oh, you know the big one. Acts chapter 1. What did Jesus do in His glorified body? He ascended. He ascended. And you're like, well, are you saying, Pastor Jeff, that you really believe that we're going to be able to fly? Yeah. That wasn't my idea. The Bible is very clear.

    39:29

    that our body is going to be just like the glorified body of Jesus himself. So your resurrected body will be just like his. Our worship team would make their way back to the platform here. You know, the Bible is clear, my friends, that you are You are. Everyone is. There is no question as to whether or not you will get an eternal, indestructible body. Excuse me, you will get one. The Bible is clear about that. There's only one real question. With your eternal, indestructible body, will you be living forever?

    40:28

    in heaven? Or will you be dying forever in hell? Because you see, for those who have received Christ, yes, we will have this body to be in the presence of the Lord, to fellowship with each other, and most importantly, to worship God eternally in a body that doesn't get tired? That's going to be so awesome. But on the other hand, If you have not received the gift of grace that God has given us in Jesus Christ, you're going to get an eternal body. But it's going to be to suffer forever. You know, hell is described as fire. And I can't imagine anything more horrific than being on fire in a body that can't be consumed. Eternally suffering. And if you haven't received God's gift of eternal life in Christ, I don't know what you're waiting for. Today can be the day. And I want you to hear me. God wants you.

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    saved. God wants you with Him for eternity.

    42:08

    How do I know that?

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    Because the Bible says things like, it is God's will that none should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

    42:15

    That's what God wants.

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    The Bible says things like, God does not delight in the death of the wicked.

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    God wants you in eternity with Him.

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    God wants you as His adopted child.

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    Do you know how I know? Because of what God did to make that possible. That He sent His Son to die on the cross on your behalf. To take the penalty for all of the sins that you committed and that I committed. God spared not His Son but delivered Him up for us all. How do I know God wants you in heaven with Him for eternity? Because of what He spent to make that happen.

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    I'd like you to bow your heads please. And if you haven't made that decision, if you haven't received the gift, let today be the day. Let today be the day that you come to grips with the fact of who you are and who God is, what you've done and what God has done.

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    And pray something like this. Pray, God, I know that I have lived my life apart from you and I have only ever wanted my way.

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    God, you have sent your son to buy me back.

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    To save me from the destructive path of my own self-centered will.

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    To save me from eternally being separated from you.

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    You did that through the death and the resurrection of Your Son. If you pray something like that today, or if you want to stick around and pray with one of our pastors or elders, let today be the day that we're done playing games, we're done pretending, we're done being church attenders, warming a seat, going through the motions. We want to be sincere. We sincerely believe.

    44:28

    We sincerely belong to Jesus Christ. Father, I pray, I pray, Father, that you would not give a minute's rest to anyone here who doesn't know you. That today would be the day that through the power of your Spirit, through the wisdom and encouragement and conviction that comes from your Word, today would be the day, Father.

    44:59

    They go to bed tonight unable to sleep. Until they do business with you. But for those of us, Father, who do know you, we thank you for these glorious promises. And I suppose that if I was going to try to make up what I thought could be the best promise ever, it would be nothing compared to how awesome your actual promises really are. Anything that I can imagine being great about eternity or heaven or a new body, it would pale in comparison to the reality of what you have actually promised. Father, we thank you. Let this be an encouragement for us to plod along for the next 15 minutes of life on earth in anticipation of our own resurrection. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.




















Small Group Discussion
Read
1 Corinthians 15:35-49

    What was your big take-away from this passage / message?

    Describe the 4 contrasts between your earthly body and your resurrected body from 1 Cor 15:42-44.

    What was Jesus’ glorified body like that you are excited to think about your glorified body being like?

    Read 1 John 3:2-3. How does the knowledge of our future resurrected bodies motivate us to purify ourselves today?

Breakout

Pray for one another.