Resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15 (9) - Victory Over Death

We're going to begin our worship now singing in Psalm 93, Psalm number 93, and sing Psalms.

That's on page 123 to the tune Argyle. We're going to sing the whole of this psalm.

The Lord is King, His throne endures majestic in its height. The Lord is robed in majesty and armed

with strength and might. The world is founded firm and sure, removed it cannot be. Your throne

is strong and you are God from all eternity. We're singing these verses in acknowledgement

of God being our Lord and our King, sitting on His throne, presiding over all that takes

place in His creation, the one to whom we are due to worship and also answerable to Him.

The Lord is King, His throne endures. We'll stand to sing.

The Lord is King, His throne endures majestic in its height. The Lord is robed in majesty and armed with strength and

strength and might. The Lord is founded firm and sure, removed it cannot be. Your throne is

strong and new and strong. And you are God from all eternity. The seas, O Lord, have lifted up,

the seas, O Lord, have lifted up, they lifted up their voice. The seas, O Lord, have lifted up,

they lifted up their voice. The seas, O Lord, have lifted up their wings, and made a mighty noise. The Lord, have lifted up,

And made a mighty noise

The Lord enthroned on highest throne

More powerful is He

And that met all the oceans waves

Are breakers of the sea

Your royal statutes, Lord, stand firm

And changeliness your world

And holiness adorns your house

For endless days, O Lord

We're going to call on the Lord now in prayer

Let's join together in prayer

O Lord, our gracious God

We are conscious that You have given us

So many details in Your Word

That ought to guide our minds

As we come to worship You

And among these we have been singing, Lord, of Your majesty

And of the way in which You preside over Your creation

We pray that that itself may affect our mind

In such a way tonight that we come submissively

And with delight and relish

To come to exalt Your name

And we thank You, O Lord

That these words about You

Reveal the truth about You

And that everything You say about You

Yourself and Your Word

We can take to heart as Your own infallible truth

And we thank You, Lord, that You have remembered us

In such a way as to reveal Yourself to us in this way

For every aspect of Your Word

That has come to reveal the Lord to us

And come to reveal to us what we are ourselves

They are all designed that we should know You

That we should come and fall down in adoration

And in faith before You

That we should come and possess eternal life

Through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, Your dear Son

We bless You, Lord

That tonight we have this renewed opportunity

To add those things that are still required of us

To know in our experience

To add to our knowledge

And to add to our level of commitment to You

We pray, Lord, that You would increase our understanding

We pray that You would deepen our faith

Widen our love, we pray

So that we may love as we have been loved

And that we may consider, Lord

That the pattern You have set for us

In Your great love for Your people

Is a pattern that in itself

In its perfection

Is such a great challenge to us

But we thank You

For Your grace that is promised to us each day

The grace, Lord, that we pray for

To enable us to meet and to fulfill

Every task You have given us

We pray for our worship to our worship

And that we may know Your grace

And that we may know Your grace

And that we may know Your grace from day to day

For Your grace itself is designed to fit with our need

And we ask, Lord, that this grace of God

This great power, this favor of God

Which is so much spoken of in Your Word

May truly be our delight this evening

We ask, Lord, with bowed heads

That we may know Your forgiveness

Your acceptance of us

We come to confess that we are not what we should be

That we are not, Lord, what You designed us to be in the beginning

That we are sinners

That we need Your forgiveness

Your cleansing

Your uplifting out of the pit of sin

That we need Your help daily in our struggles with sin

Our struggles with ourselves and our fallenness

Even, Lord, as Your redeemed people

We acknowledge that we fail daily to meet the standard

That we find in Your Word

Standard that is so matchlessly portrayed for us

In the humanity of our Lord Himself

We bless You tonight, Lord

That we have that ready access to You

Through Your Word and Spirit

We pray for Your Spirit to bless us

Oh, Lord, we pray that we may never come to

Even think reflectively or for a moment

That we are somehow sufficient in ourselves

To deal with those things that belong to our need

That belong to Your requirement of us

But we give thanks, Lord, that You are all that we require

That we have everything in You that we need

In order to live acceptably before You

So, bless to us, we pray, our gathering here this evening

Bless us in all our life as a congregation of Your people

We give thanks for the many avenues of service

That You provide for us, Lord, in this congregation

We pray that all of them may be used to the full

And we pray that You would grant us Your grace, Lord

To fulfill in these activities

Our desire to glorify Your name

That we may see Your kingdom advance

The congregation itself growing

In the nurture and in the admonition of the Lord

Even those of us who are adults

We pray that You would help us, Lord

To further enter into

The expression of Your name

In the world in which we live

By the life that we live

By the way that we speak

By our very own thoughts, O Lord

Remember tonight all the gatherings of Your people

And we pray for them as they meet together as we do

And as they have met throughout the world

On this day, the Lord's day

We thank You for the value

That we place upon Your day

For the way You have taught us, O Lord

To regard this day in itself as significant

And for the way that we recognize

That You set it aside from the very creation

To be a day that was different

To the other days of each week

And we thank You for the opportunities we have in it

To know You

And to increase our knowledge of You

And our fellowship with one another

Blessed to us, we pray, all the advantages we have

In a Lord's day that comes about

So regularly, week by week

And we thank You, gracious one

For all that Your day represents to Your people

And for the way that we come to associate it

With Your own resurrection from the dead

For the way that we also see in it

An anticipation of the eternal rest

That You have provided for Your people

That awaits them in heaven

And we ask tonight anew

As we come to give our mind

To the great subject of resurrection

And as we look towards that coming of the Lord

And the resurrection of His people

To be raised, to share with Him

And to be with Him

In that glory that is promised

We pray, O Lord

That You would strengthen our faith

And give us to resist, we pray

The many temptations we find in the world

To disbelieve these things

Give us, Lord, in the midst of all the

Different species of thought that we come across

That are contrary to Your Word

That we may hold fast to Your own revealed Word

That we may leave all its promises

All its warnings, all its threatenings

All the passages that come to comfort us, O Lord

All the ones also that stir us up to remembrance

Of the tremendous and stupendous fact

Of Your judgment

We ask, O Lord, that we may be

All the more made wise unto salvation

Bless, we pray, all the families belonging to us

As a congregation tonight

We ask that in all our homes

We may know Your blessing

We pray that You would grant to us, O Lord

Your own guidance and Your own favor

In all that we seek to do

We pray for those tonight

Who cannot be here physically

We pray for them, Lord

And especially those of them who are ill

We pray for those in hospital

And we pray for grace for them

For the recovery

And we give thanks, Lord

For the news that we hear

From time to time

Of those who have been ill

And those not only long-term ill

But also those who more recently

Were laid aside

And sometimes unexpectedly

And sometimes suddenly

O Lord, bless them all

We pray and bless their family

And we give thanks again tonight

For the measure of recovery

For William Graham

We pray that You would hear our prayers

For him again

And for Mordech

And for their family, James

And Damien

We pray that his progress

Will continue

We give thanks to You, O Lord

For the safe delivery

Of Donnie and Teane's grandchild

Even though it is such an early time

In her mother's pregnancy

We thank You for our safe delivery

We pray for her

And we pray that You would bless our Lord

As the days go by

And we pray that You would bless

Kian and Alistair

At this time as they celebrate

Once again a child given of the Lord

And continue to bless them, O Lord

During this time

We pray for those who mourn

Who continue to miss loved ones

Again, Lord, we ask that You would

Console and comfort their hearts

And we do commend them to You once again

Whether it be recent bereavement

Or times in the past

Lord, we know that bereavement

Continues to be a painful experience for us

But we thank You for the way

In which Your own comfort

Is extended to us

Through Your Spirit

We ask, O Lord

That we may now continue

To wait upon You

As we further our worship service here

Bless us, we pray

Throughout the week

That we've entered upon

Bless us as we anticipate, Lord

The coronation of King Charles

Later in this week

We pray for him

As You require us to do in Your Word

We pray for himself

And we pray for his spouse, Camilla

Bless them, Lord, we pray

At this important juncture

Not only in their own lives

But in the life of the nation

And help us, Lord, we pray

To bear them before You

And we pray that he will come

To be an influence for good

Especially for Your own cause

For the advance of Your kingdom

That he will not be drawn aside

To substitute the Lord

With any other alternative

To the Lord Jesus Christ

As His King and His God

And grant him, Lord, Your blessing

As he awaits this important day

And so go before us now

We pray and bless all

Who are in government over us

In all parts of the land

Lord, in these difficult, tumultuous days

We pray for Your guidance

We pray for Your mercy

We pray for Your forgiveness

For our many sins

And the many ways

In which we have departed

From Your ways

Return us, Lord, we pray

How long?

How long will it be

Before we come

Once again as a nation

To be characterized

By a love for Your truth

Lord, hasten the day, we pray

And come and hear

The prayers of Your people

As You hear them

Come and answer

And do so, Lord

In a way that would

Exceed our very expectation

We pray all with the pardon

Of our sin

In Jesus' name

Amen

Let's sing again to God's praise

In Psalm 90 this time

Psalm number 90

That's in the Scottish Psalter

Page 350

Singing verses 13 to 17

The tune this time is Morvan

Turn yet again to us, O Lord

How long thus shall it be

Let it repent Thee now

For those that servants are to Thee

O with Thy tender mercies, Lord

As early satisfy

So we rejoice shall all our days

And still be glad in Thee

These verses 13 to the end of the Psalm

To God's praise

Turn yet again to us, O Lord

How long thou shall it be

Let it repent Thee now

Let it repent Thee now

For those that servants are to Thee

O with Thy tender mercies, Lord

As early satisfy

As early satisfy

As early satisfy

So we rejoice shall all our days

And still be glad in Thee

According to us Thee

Thee days have been Wherein we grief have had

And years wherein we ill have had

So do thou make us cry

So do thou make us cry

O let thy work and part

O let thy work and part

O let thy work and part

And shall our days

And still be glad in thee

We hope that we grief have had

And still be glad in thee

So do thou make us cry

And shall ourgens

before, and show unto their children dear thy glory evermore.

And let the beauty of the Lord our God be us upon,

our handy words establish love, establish them each one.

Now we're reading two passages of God's Word this evening.

Firstly, it's from the prophecy of Isaiah, chapter 25.

Isaiah 25 · chapter mention

And we'll read the first 12 verses, or the whole chapter really, the 12 verses.

And also 1 Corinthians 15, a few verses there which we'll turn to look at later in the service.

First of all, Isaiah 25, reading from the beginning.

O Lord, you are my God, I will exalt you, I will praise your name,

for you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful, and sure.

For you have made the city a heap, the fortified city a ruin.

The foreigner's palace is a city no more.

It will never be rebuilt.

Therefore strong peoples will glorify you.

Cities of ruthless nations will fear you.

For you have been a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress,

a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat.

For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm against a wall,

like heat in a dry place.

You subdue the noise of the foreigners as heat by the shade of a cloud.

So the song of the ruthless is put down.

On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food,

a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.

And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples,

the veil that is spread over all nations.

He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces,

and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth.

For the Lord has spoken.

It will be said on that day, Behold, this is our God.

We have waited for him that he might save us.

This is the Lord.

We have waited for him.

Let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.

For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain,

and Moab shall be trampled down in his place,

as straw is trampled down in a dunghill.

And he will spread out his hands in the midst of it,

as a swimmer spreads his hands out to swim.

But the Lord will lay low his pompous pride,

together with the skill of his hands.

And the high fortifications of his walls he will bring down,

lay low, and cast to the ground to the dust.

We turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 15.

1 Corinthians 15 · chapter mention

We'll read verses 50 to 58.

I tell you, this brother's 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 trumpet.

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.

O death, where is your victory?

O 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.

We pray God will follow with his blessing,

that reading from his word.

Let's sing once again before we come back to 1 Corinthians 15.

This time it's Psalm 72.

Psalm 72 from St. Psalms, page 92,

verses 1 to 9.

The tune this time is Duke Street.

Endow the King with justice, Lord,

the royal Son with righteousness.

Your people, your afflicted ones,

he'll judge with truth and uprightness.

The mountains will bring peace to them,

the hills the fruit of righteousness.

He will defend and save the poor,

and crush all those who them oppress.

And so on, down as far as verse 9,

Psalm 72.

Endow the King with justice, Lord.

The royal Son with righteousness.

He'll judge with truth and uprightness.

The mountains will bring peace to them,

The hills, the fruit of righteousness

He will defend and save the poor

And crush all those who then will rest

As long as sun and moon endure

So will he live time without end

He'll be like showers on the air

Like reaps that on moon fields descend

The righteous then will blossom forth

Through earth is ever-lasting green

Until the moon no longer shines

Peace in abundance will remain

From sea to sea he will hold sway

And from the river to earth's end

His enemies will lead the dust

And deserts rise, the knee will end

Well, let's turn once more to 1 Corinthians 15

The passage we read from verse 50

And tonight we're going to consider these verses

Down as far as verse 57

So that will leave us, God willing, one further study

In this great chapter

Dealing with the resurrection

When we come next time, God willing, to look at verse 58

Which really sums up and concludes

Paul's treatment of the resurrection

As a significant application of it

As you find in verse 58

So from verse 50, as we've read it through

He's dealing here again with the resurrection

But giving us some more details

In addition to what we saw earlier

Throughout the chapter

Now one thing you notice here is very obvious

And that he's talking here to brothers

He's, of course, addressing the church in Corinth

But all the way through here

He's really dealing with the resurrection of the Lord's people

And that's in keeping with what you find

Mostly throughout Scripture

Scripture has very little, actually, to do with

The resurrection of the unsaved

Because the overwhelming emphasis in the Bible

Is on salvation

On redemption from sin and from death

As this passage itself is going to bring us through this evening

And the emphasis on life and salvation

Means that that's really what predominates

That's what really gets the major part of Paul's treatment

Throughout this chapter, indeed

There is, of course, going to be a resurrection of the unsaved as well

But it will be very different to the resurrection

Not in kind, but in result

To the resurrection of God's redeemed and saved people

Jesus himself referred to that

In chapter 5 of John's Gospel

And at verse 29 there, 28-29

He says, where he taught

That God the Father has given the Son authority to execute judgment

Because He is the Son of Man

Do not marvel at this

For an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear His voice

And come out

Those who have done good to the resurrection of life

And those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment

Or to the resurrection of condemnation

Which also is the meaning of the word there

So that's giving us a very definite truth

That God will bring all from the grave

Whoever they are

Whenever they have lived

All shall come out of the graves

Of the voice of the Son of God

And you put that into line with the emphasis

In this chapter of the coming of Christ Himself

1 Thessalonians 4 and other similar passages

And so there is a resurrection of the unjust

A resurrection of the unsaved as well

We're not going to deal with that tonight

It's part of the message of Scripture

But as we say, the overwhelming emphasis

Is on the resurrection of the saved

Of God's people

Why is that?

Well, for one, that's what God has given the most emphasis to

In His revelation of Himself to us

He's not a God who's willing that any should die

That any should perish

But that all should come to repentance

It's so that we'll come to see

Our need of Jesus

Our need of the salvation that's in Him

Our need of the victory over sin and death

That He has brought about and accomplished

Through His own death and resurrection from the dead

That's why you find this overwhelming emphasis in Scripture

In God's revelation of salvation to us

So that we'll come to the Jesus

Who took our damnation to Himself

Who took to Himself the death that we deserved for our sins

And who therefore is presented to us as such

As the Savior of His people

And tonight as we go through this passage

I trust that you and I will put to ourselves

Once again, our need of the Savior

Even if you're saved

Even if you've been saved for many years

I hope that through this passage tonight

We will all come to an appreciation

Of the greatness of Christ

Of our need of Christ

Of the wonder of life in Him

For people who don't deserve it

Such as we all are

And that will come

If we're not yet in Christ

To really consider

Even before we leave this place tonight

That this is where you need to be found

That this is where you want to be found

That this is your concern

And this is your desire

To be found in Christ

Not having a righteousness of your own

So that you'll be like the apostle

In his testimony in Philippians 3

If by any means, he says

I would attain to the resurrection of the dead

Tonight that's surely your desire

My desire

That you will be part of those blessed ones

Who will come to be raised at the coming of Christ

To meet Him

Triumphing in His salvation

And not cringing before His condemnation

Two things I want to look at

First of all, the necessity

Of a great change

As the passage brings it out for us

The necessity of a great change

Verses 50 to 52

Where he says

Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God

Nor does the perishable inherit imperishable

And then secondly

We'll look at the features of this great change

That God will bring about

In the resurrection of His people

Well, you'll find that in verses 53

Down to verse 57

So the necessity of a great change

The change that will take place

At the resurrection

The change especially in our bodily condition

And secondly

The features of that great change

What does it consist of?

What is going to happen?

And of course we do acknowledge

That while we're following the words of Scripture there

There are still many aspects of this truth

That really elude us

And are beyond our capacity

To put into such words

If you like as they deserve

The necessity of a great change

Well, look at what he says in verse 50

I tell you this, brothers

Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God

Nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable

Now what does he mean by

Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God?

Well, by flesh and blood

He's certainly still focusing on the body

But it also includes our present bodily existence

In this world

Even for us as Christians

This present state of things

This body in the present state of things

Even though we are saved in Christ

As we are as such prior to death

We cannot inherit the kingdom of God

The body we presently have

The bodily life we presently live

The body in which we live this life

Is not itself capable of sustaining the fullness of life

That is going to be the portion of God's people at the resurrection

So flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God

And you can see it's expanded where he says

Nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable

He used these words earlier, you recall as well

The perishable that's raised in verse 42 there

To be imperishable

What he means by that is

The body that we require to inhabit glory, if you like

The life that we will have in glory

This bodily life

It will still be a life in the body spiritually

Going back to previous studies

But what he's saying now is that

We need a body that is above the reach of decay

The body we have just now is going to decay

It's decaying already

It's proceeding day by day towards returning to the dust

And we cannot inherit the kingdom of God

Therefore in that body it's perishable

The perishable does not inherit the imperishable

The necessity of resurrection

The necessity of a great change

Because what he's anticipating here as we'll go on in the study

Is a life and a body in that life

As well as our soul

Remember that God has redeemed us as persons

As living human beings

And that means our body as well

As our soul incorporated in the redemption that is in Christ

Is not going to leave our bodies out of that salvation

Is not going to have salvation that is just purely spirit only

Or soul only

He has redeemed our persons

Body and soul together

And while the body returns to the dust

And the soul goes

To be with God in heaven for God's people

In anticipation of this day

When the imperishable

Will characterize the body that's raised

From the dead

We need to have

A body that's set above

The reach of death

The reach of decay

In other words

A body that is suitable

And qualified

Under God

For the fullness of life

That heaven will be

The fullness of life

That Christ has purchased

For the perishable

Cannot inherit the imperishable

Nor does flesh and blood

Inherit the kingdom of God

And he goes on

From verse 51

And 52

To expand on that somewhat

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 trumpet

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

We shall not all sleep

But we shall all be changed

What is that setting before us?

Well it means really that

When the Lord returns

There will still be people

And those of his own people

Living in this world

That have not died

Whose bodies have not

Returned to the dust

In the grave

We shall not all sleep

Is what he means by that

But we shall all be changed

In a moment

In the twinkling of an eye

In other words

He's saying

The kind of change

That takes place

In the resurrection

Of the bodies of God's people

Will take place

In the bodies

Of those who are still living

When the Lord returns

Because they are still

Perishable

And subject to death

They need a different

Kind of body

Set above death

And that's going to happen

When the Lord returns

Even for those

Who have not died

And their bodies

Return to the dust

In the grave

They shall be changed

We shall all be changed

We all need to have

That change

By which we come

To inherit bodily

The kingdom of God

And you see what he's saying

About it

It will happen

In a moment

In the twinkling of an eye

At the last trumpet

So from that

You and I cannot say tonight

I've got plenty of time yet

I'm still relatively young

I can just relax

And take my time

And when I get nearer

To my old age

Then I'll be able to

Seriously deal with

The issues of eternity

No he's saying

The Lord is coming

And we shall be changed

In an instant

It's going to take place

In the twinkling of an eye

There's change in our bodies

In a moment

In the twinkling of an eye

At the last trumpet

How long does it take

For you to flick your eyelid

To blink your eyes

Well he's saying

That's how quickly

The change is going to come

When the Lord returns

By his power

That's going to be

Effected immediately

We shall all be changed

In a moment

In the twinkling of an eye

For he says

The trumpet

Will sound

And the dead

Will be raised

Imperishable

And we shall be changed

The trumpet

Will sound

That's an interesting phrase

Isn't it

And there are two

Places in scripture

Where this kind of

Emphasis on the trumpet

Being sounded

Is before us

In the word of God

First is at

Mount Sinai

Where there was

An incredibly loud

Blast

Of trumpet

Over which

Moses himself

Says

As you read the

Account in Hebrews 12

I exceedingly

Fear and quake

Moses was a man

Who was so near

To God

That he spoke with him

Face to face

There was nobody

On earth

That was

At that time

At least as near

To God

As familiar with God

And knew the tremendous

Majesty and greatness

Of God

The way Moses did

And yet it's said

Of him there

That this trumpet blast

On Mount Sinai

Which signaled

The arrival of the Lord

Coming onto the mountain

To set it on fire

By his presence

Gave Moses himself

To fear

And to quake

It was such a tremendous

Loud blast

You see this blast

Of the trumpet

It's not

It's an unearthly trumpet

If you like

It's not somebody

Taking a normal

Musical instrument

Or even a hundred

Of these musical

Instruments trumpets

This is a supernatural

Trumpet

This is something

That comes from heaven

This is an unearthly

Trumpet sound

That awakens the dead

That comes to announce

The arrival of the king

I'm sure

God willing

On Saturday

There will be something

Similar to that

In human terms

Very often the case

When the queen

The late queen

Was arriving at parliament

Or wherever

And this time

For the coronation

There will be a fanfare

I'm sure

To announce

That the king

Is here

To announce

That this is the moment

This is the moment

The large crowd

In anticipation

Of the king's coronation

Gathered there

This is the moment

They've been looking forward to

This is the moment

The moment has now come

The trumpet blast

The fanfare announces

This is it

He's here

And it'll be that way

At the end of the world

It'll be that way

At the end of the age

At the coming of Christ

At the resurrection

Of the dead

For the trumpet

Will sound

And the dead

Will be raised

Imperishable

The other place

You find it mentioned

The sound of the trumpet

Is in Revelation

Revelation 20 · chapter mention

Chapter 20

Sorry

1 Thessalonians chapter 4

1 Thessalonians 4:15–16

Verses 15 to 16

You remember

That's dealing with

The resurrection as well

1 Thessalonians 4

1 Thessalonians 4:15–16

Verses 15 to 16

Where you find

The Lord himself

He says

We declare that

Those who are alive

Who are left

Till the coming of the Lord

Will not precede

Those who have fallen asleep

For the Lord himself

Will descend from heaven

With a cry of command

With a voice of an archangel

And with the sound

Of the trumpet of God

And the dead in Christ

Will rise first

Then we who are alive

Will be caught up together

With them in the clouds

To meet the Lord

In the air

Therefore

So we will always be

With the Lord

It's the same emphasis there

That when the Lord comes

There will be this

Almighty

Unearthly

Supernatural sound

That will announce

His arrival

The fanfare of heaven

It will come

And announce to the world

The King is here

The Lord is here

God has come

And He's come to judge the earth

And He's come to

Bring His people home

And He's come to

Deal with all

Who have ever lived

As Revelation chapter 20

Revelation 20 · chapter mention

Puts it

The great white throne

Before whom all

Will be arraigned

And before whom all

Will be judged

And it's announcing

As it announces

The King's arrival

As you read there

In 1 Thessalonians 4

It's more than just

The announcement

Of His arrival

It's also

It's also a summons

To us

To take note

Of what's happening

To come and meet

The King

The trumpet that announces

His arrival

Is the trumpet

That says to us

You are required

Now to meet Him

You are required

To listen

You are required

To give

Your greatest attention

To what's happened

Because it's the King

Who's arrived

It's a time for

Concentration

As never before

Because we shall be

All arranged before Him

To be judged by Him

According to what we have done

Whether good

Or evil

What a great day

That's going to be

Friends

What a wonderful

Fulfillment

Of the hope

Of God's people

What a wonderful

Climax and crowning

To their life

Of faith

In this world

To their expectation

Of resurrection

To be with Jesus

Forevermore

To gather with

God's people

In heaven

And to be there

Without interruption

Forevermore

With this perishable

Having put on

The imperishable

And this mortal

Having put on

The immortal

And that's what

He's saying to us tonight

It's this wonderful

Anticipation

Of this great day

How are you preparing

For it?

How am I preparing

For it?

When there's

An inevitability

About it

When there's

A certainty

About it

Are we preparing

To meet

Our king?

This is not

Going to be like

The coronation

We're anticipating

This week

However grand

That may be

However significant

That may be

For many people

This is for the

Whole of humanity

And especially

So for God's

Redeemed people

The moment

They've anticipated

The moment

Indeed

That the world

Has been waiting

For the world

Of God's people

In it

Especially

Has been waiting

For from the moment

People began

To fear the Lord

The day of the Lord

Presented in God's

Revelation of himself

As the pinnacle

Really of history

The pinnacle of redemption

For God's people

Here we are tonight

We have

A privilege

That's

Not the lot

Of many people

In the world

In the day

In which we live

The privilege

Of knowing

This truth

From the gospel

The privilege

Of being called

To anticipate

The coming of the king

The privilege

Of knowing

That we have

To have our trust

In him

That we need

To love him

That we need

To fall down

In obedience

To him

In this life

So that we will

Welcome him

When he comes

What a great privilege

God has given you

That he's revealed

This to you

As something

That is

Required of us

And that it's

A privilege of us

To enter into

A life of faith

And trust

And love

And hope

In the Lord

Jesus Christ

Is that where you are

With your life

So far

Is that where

Your hope

Is anchored

Is that how

You're preparing

Not just

For your death

But how you're

Preparing

For the coming

Of the king

For the realization

That the Lord

Is on his way

And the trumpet

Will sound

And the dead

Will be raised

And we shall

All be gathered

In his presence

Well he's saying here

That that's

What's going to happen

So the features

Then of that

Great change

Next

We can see

Moving from

The necessity

Of it

The necessity

Being that

We cannot

Inherit

The kingdom

Of God

Without this

Change

In the resurrection

Of the saved

When he says here

For this perishable

Must put on

The imperishable

And this mortal

Body must put on

Immortality

Then when the

Perishable

Puts on the

Imperishable

And the mortal

Puts on immortality

Then shall be

Brought to pass

The saying

That is written

Death is swallowed

Up in victory

O death

Where is your victory

O death

Where is your sting

Quoting from

Isaiah 25

And also some

Verses you find

In Hosea chapter 13

Hosea 13 · chapter mention

Combining them there

Really together

For this imperishable

Must put on

The imperishable

And this mortal

Must put on

Immortality

We've alluded to that

But you see

The must

Is there again

Emphasized

It must be the case

We cannot inherit

The kingdom of God

Without this change

But then

When this happens

Then shall be brought

To pass the saying

That is written

Death is swallowed

Up in victory

And that word

Then is important

Because here is

A prophecy

That for thousands

Of years

Has been lying

Waiting for it

To be fulfilled

The prophecy

That the Lord

Gave through Isaiah

To the people

In chapter 25

As we have it

Of his prophecy

A prophecy

Waiting for fulfillment

For the day

Of its accomplishment

And it's

The accomplishment

Of it

At the coming

Of Christ

Then shall be brought

To pass the saying

That is written

This is not fulfilled

Once you leave this world

As a Christian

And in your soul

Enter into glory

That's only part

Of what is awaiting

The Lord's people

This actually awaits

The raising of your body

So as to be with your soul

Reunited to enter glory

Forevermore

Then shall be brought

To pass the saying

That is written

Death is swallowed up

In victory

Now in principle

That's been accomplished

By Jesus

Of course

In his own resurrection

From the dead

But as far as

God's people are concerned

It's still awaiting

In the future

To be fulfilled

When they are raised

From the dead

To be with Christ

Forever

Because that's going to mean

Neither decay

Nor death

Shall ever again invade

Their human experience

Their human life

They're set above it

They're imperishable

They're immortal

Death has no longer

Any possibility

Of invading

What they are

As raised

Saved people in Christ

What a great prospect

That is

And here is

Paul saying

That

This

For he says

The sting of death

Is sin

The power of sin

Is the law

Thanks be to God

Who gives us the victory

Through our Lord Jesus Christ

He's saying here

The sting of death

Is sin

If you think of a scorpion

Which seems to be

The imagery there

Scorpion that bears

This poisonous

Deadly sting

In its tail

Well death

Has its sting

In sin

Sin is the sting

Of death

Sin is

Here

Gives

Death

Is what gives death

Its sting

And here's

Here's the amazing thing

That this sting

Has already

Entered into

Jesus Christ

Himself

He came into this world

To die

And he came into this world

To die

The death

That we deserved

He came into this world

To die

The wages

Of sin

The death

That is

Not just

Physical death

But also death

Spiritual

Death

In separation

From God

Death

As the great

Penalty of sin

That God

Has laid upon us

In our condemnation

That is why

Jesus came into the world

He came to live

A perfect life

But to die

This atoning death

Sting of death

Entered into himself

But not in a way

That defeated him

It's the other way about

Death has been defeated

By the death

He died

Fulfilling the demands

Of the law

The requirement

Of God

And then

Followed by a resurrection

His resurrection

From the dead

You know that when

Not every species

Of bee

Has this

But the honeybee

Has a sting

With a little hook

At the end

Of the sting

Which protrudes

From the rear

Of its body

And when the honeybee

Stings

Into flesh

Of any kind

Because that

Sting is

Barbed

It's got a hook

He can't pull it out

Again

The bee

Cannot pull it out

Again

Without destroying

Itself

And

Have you ever seen

Such a thing

As the body

Of the bee

Is torn apart

The little

Sack

The end of its body

With the sting

Attached

Continues

To be attached

To

Wherever this thing

Has entered

And it keeps on

Pumping the venom

Even after the bee

Has been torn apart

And very soon

Dies after that

Well think of that

As an illustration

Here is sin

Here is the devil

Indeed

Using his sin

As a weapon

Using sin

As a weapon

Here is the sin

That is proper

To you

And to me

As sinners

Here is Jesus

The son of God

Come into the

World

In order to take

The sting

Of death

To himself

The sin

For which we are

Rightly condemned

But it's destroyed

The moment it enters

Into Christ

Because he has died

The death

We could not die

He had died

He died

Victorious

Let me remind you

Of a wonderful passage

In Hebrews

Hebrews 2 · chapter mention

Chapter 2

Where you find

The writer there

Talking about

The coming

The death

Of Christ

And especially

Himself

Taking out

Human nature

He says

He took

He took this

To himself

That through

Death

He might destroy

The one

Who has the power

Of death

That is the devil

And delivered

All those

Who through fear

Of death

Were subject

To lifelong

To life

To life

Talks then

About being made

Like unto his

Brothers

In every respect

Taking our human

Nature to himself

But confine it

To what he says

There

That through

Death

Through his own

Death

He might destroy

Him

Who has the power

Of death

That is the devil

Not only did Jesus

Deal with sin

And overcome sin

And remove the sting

Of sin

From the death

Of his people

He has also

Come to

Destroy the devil's

Authority

And ultimately

Himself

And his condemnation

Forever

You see

It's all in the cross

It's all in the

Resurrection of Christ

Following his

Death

The death he died

And that's what

Lies behind

That's what's

Foundational

To the Lord's

People

In their resurrection

Where the perishable

Puts on the

Imperishable

Where the mortal

Puts on immortality

Then it shall

Come to pass

Death

Is swallowed up

In victory

The Lord

Has taken the

Sting

Himself

Out of death

And when you

Die as a Christian

That sting's

Not going to

Touch you

The poison of

Sin has been

Removed

It's not going

To be in any

Way

Capable of

Invading

Your life

Anymore

Oh death

Where is

Your victory

He adds

Oh death

Where is

Your sting

As if Paul

Is turning

Around and

In a way

Of personifying

Death

As if it

Was just

A real

Person that

He's talking

To

That had

This ascendancy

Over human

Beings

He's now

Saying

Oh death

Where is

Your victory

Now

Oh grave

Oh death

Where is

Your sting

Now

Now that

The Lord

Has done

What he

Has done

Now that

God has

Swallowed up

Death

In victory

Now that

Jesus

Has died

Now that

He's taken

That sting

To himself

Where is

Your victory

Where is

Your triumph

Where is

Your sting

It's gone

You don't

Have it

Anymore

What a

Celebration

What a

Cause of

Celebration

The wages

Of sin

Is death

The sting

Of death

Is sin

Christ has

Dealt with it

And when you

Come to

Trust in him

His triumph

Becomes

Your triumph

His victory

Becomes

Your victory

His ascendancy

Over death

Becomes

Your ascendancy

His taking

The sting

Out of death

Means it's

As if you

Have done

It yourself

Through faith

In him

That's what's

True of you

Thanks be to

God who gives

Us the victory

Through our

Lord Jesus

Christ

The resurrection

Is future

But the

Victory

Is assured

Whatever

Lies between

Now and the

Return of

Christ

In the

History of

The world

The foundation

Has been

Laid

The principle

Of victory

Has been

Won

Isn't that

Something

Tonight

That you

Yourself

Can celebrate

Isn't it

Something really

That the world

Ought to be

Longing for

The accomplishment

Of it

At his return

Then shall

Be brought

To death

The saying

That is written

Death is

Swallowed up

In victory

Don't you

Actually feel

That sense

Of expectation

Even of

Triumph

As you

Anticipate

That for

Yourself

That this

Is something

Really

That belongs

To your

Life

And to

Your hope

And to

Your

Expectation

That that

Day is

Coming for

You as

Well

Through

Your faith

In Christ

Through

The victory

Of Christ

That he's

Achieved

For you

When you

Can actually

Say

Looking down

Upon death

As you

Are raised

Above it

In the

Resurrection

When you

Can say

Where now

Is your

Victory

Grave

I've left

It behind

It's no

Longer

There

It's no

Longer

Relevant

My Lord

Has triumphed

And I've

Triumphed

In him

Thanks be

To God

Who gives

Us the

Victory

Through our

Lord Jesus

Christ

You know

There's a

Great book

A Scottish

Theological

Classic

Called

The 4-4

State

By Thomas

Boston

It's really

Called human

Nature

In its

Fourfold

State

He deals

With the

State

Before the

Fall

The state

Of sin

The state

Of grace

And the state

Of glory

The fourfold

State

Of human

Beings

And in

That book

Page 384

I've got

Noted here

Boston

Imagines

The souls

Of God's

Saved

People

Being

Reunited

With their

Bodies

That had

Been

Long

In the

Grave

And

Reunited

In the

Resurrection

With their

Souls

And Boston

Imagines

The souls

Speaking

To the

Body

And

Saying

This

Arise

Then my

Body

And come

Away

Let these

Eyes

Which used

To weep

Over my

Sins

Behold

With joy

The face

Of our

Glorious

Redeemer

Let these

Ears

Which used

To hear

The word

Of life

In the

Temple

Below

Come

And hear

The hallelujahs

In the

Temple

Above

Let these

Feet

That carried

Me

In the

Congregation

Of saints

On earth

Take their

Place among

Those in

Heaven

And let

This tongue

Which confessed

Christ

Before men

Join

The choir

Of the

Upper

House

In his

Praises

Forevermore

And he

goes on

Imagining the

Soul speaking

To the

Body

You will

Fast no

More

But keep

An everlasting

Feast

You will

Weep no

More

Neither

Shall your

Countenance

Be over

Clouded

But you

Will shine

Forever

As a

Star in

The firmament

And then the

Soul says to

The redeemed

Body

The resurrected

Body

We took

Part together

In the

Fight

Come

Let us

Go together

To receive

And wear

The crown

This

Perishable

Must put

On the