Our Bodies and Glory

Today's scripture reading is from the 1st Corinthians chapter 15 verses 29 to 58.

Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead?

If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf?

Why are we in danger every hour?

I protest, brothers, by my pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I died every day.

What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus?

If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.

Do not be deceived.

Bad company ruins good morals.

Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning.

For some have no knowledge of God.

God, I say this to your shame.

But someone will ask, how are the dead raised?

With what kind of body do they come?

You foolish person.

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 of some other grain.

But God gives it a body as he has chosen,

and to each kind of seed its own body.

For not all flesh is the same,

but 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,

and another glory of the stars.

For star differs from star in glory.

So is it with the resurrection of the dead.

What is sown is perishable.

What is raised is 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.

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 spirit that is first,

but the natural,

and then the spiritual.

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 were born the image of the man of dust,

we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.

I tell you this, brothers.

Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God,

nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

Behold, I tell you a mystery.

We shall not all sleep,

but we shall all be changed.

In a moment,

in the twinkling of an eye,

at the last 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.

And thanks be to God,

who gives us the victory

through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my beloved brothers,

be steadfast, immovable,

always abounding in the work of the Lord,

knowing that in the Lord

your labor is not in vain.

This is the word of God.

Amen.

Amen.

Great.

Thank you, Yidi, for praying.

Margo, for reading.

We're going to look at this passage.

It's actually part of a topical series,

but yeah, it's a great passage.

And so, let's pray

that God would speak to each one of us.

Our Father, thank you for your word.

Thank you that we are not in the dark

about the future.

You tell us what will be,

and we pray that you would speak to our hearts,

and it would change our lives.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Great.

So, I know it's a beautiful day.

Let me start with a slightly different question.

So, imagine you only had like five years to live.

What kind of things would you be doing

during those five years?

Have a think about that.

I don't know what kind of things you're thinking of.

My guess is if you ask most people in the world,

they would have a list of things

that they would want to do, right?

They would, I want to go to Paris.

I want to ride a motorcycle.

I want to go bungee jumping.

I want to see the normal lights, take a cruise.

Any of those kind of things, right?

Because, you know, we want to make the most of life.

These are amazing things that, you know, we should do.

And if I only have five years, well, let me do them.

People call it a bucket list

from the expression to kick the bucket,

which is to die.

Now, some of you haven't probably thought about that

because you're so young.

I guess in your case, well,

I think this is on social media, YOLO, right?

YOLO, you only live once.

Let's make the most of this life.

Let's have big ice cream.

Let's go bungee jumping.

They're both the same thing, right?

Whether you're old or young.

The idea that we hear in the world is

make the most of this life.

There is so much good in the world.

There's so much to enjoy.

So many great experiences you can have.

Well, let's do it.

Because this is your life.

Now, as Christians,

I don't know how you feel about that.

It kind of feels wrong.

But at the same time,

are you saying that those things are wrong?

All right?

No.

I'm sure they are good things.

How do we work with that?

Well, that's what we're going to talk about today.

Because this is a series on the human body,

our physical bodies.

What does God think about them?

And we're basically going through the Bible story, right?

It starts with creation

and how God made our bodies.

And so they're good.

But then, yeah,

we sinned and our bodies are now broken.

Last week, well,

we're now back with God

so we can use our bodies for worship.

But then, the future.

You know, what will this mean?

Yeah, what about our bodies and all eternity?

Or in heaven, as Kevin just said.

That's what we're going to talk about.

And I think this is really important

because the future does affect the present.

And the reason we're,

well, you've heard that we're reading from 1 Corinthians 15.

And that chapter is really suitable

because that was the Corinthians problem.

They didn't think there was much after death.

They didn't think there was a resurrection, right?

Paul, in verse 12 of this chapter,

he says,

how can you say there's no resurrection from the dead?

We're just saying,

I believe in the resurrection, right?

This is a core Christian belief

and a lot of the Corinthians,

they didn't believe it anymore.

They just followed Greek philosophy

where, you know,

the body isn't very important.

The future, well,

we'll just be spirits floating around,

something like that.

That is the future we have.

And, well,

Paul wants to say,

no, no, this is essential.

And that's what,

actually,

it's exactly what we need to hear, right?

We want to know about our bodies,

about the future.

Well,

let's talk about the resurrection

because that's when it's called,

right?

Being raised from the dead.

And so,

the big thing,

first of all,

that Paul wants to say,

well, look,

you will have resurrection bodies.

We will have resurrection bodies,

right?

You heard in the reading,

the body,

the body,

the body.

We will have bodies.

Clearly,

God cares about bodies

because we will have bodies

for all eternity.

And you will have a physical body.

The future is physical.

It is a new creation.

This is very different

from what many people think,

right?

I think I've said this before.

Many people think

eternity,

heaven,

is like,

a bit like this,

right?

floating around

in a white dress

with a harp

on a cloud,

something like that.

This is kind of eternity

for most people.

And I don't know about you.

I don't think it's very exciting.

But that is kind of

what people think.

Well,

the answer is,

actually,

that is not our future.

This is kind of

the picture of heaven.

But,

you know what?

You're going to heaven,

but only for a short time.

Heaven is only a waiting room.

The real thing

is when Jesus comes back

and then he will make

a new creation.

He will take this creation

and totally transform it.

And he will give us

our old bodies,

whether they'll be

completely transformed.

We'll have new bodies,

resurrection bodies.

So the future is physical,

right?

We're going back

to the Garden of Eden.

God had this plan

originally,

and he's not going

to change that.

And back when God

made humans,

he gave them taste buds

so that they could taste.

Well,

God wants us to be tasting

in the new creation.

He gave us ears

to listen to music.

He gave us eyes

to see beauty,

and he wants us

to do that

for all eternity

because that was his plan.

And he's not going

to change his plan

with a kind of plan B

of floating spirits.

No,

you will have

a physical body.

I think this is,

you know,

that answers kind of

what we feel,

right?

Because maybe,

I don't know,

maybe you're here,

you're not a visitor.

So you're a visitor,

you're not a Christian,

you look at

different religions,

and you see the world,

and there's good things

and bad things.

And many religions,

they kind of,

they discard the world.

And, you know,

you have this kind of

spiritual nirvana

or whatever.

But then how about

the good things

in the world?

Now,

Christianity says,

no,

the world is good.

We just need to get rid

of the bad things

and renew it.

And God says,

the world is good.

Bodies are good,

and you will have them

for all eternity.

But not just the body

we have now,

actually,

a better body.

Because a lot of this passage

was about this objection

in verse 35,

right?

But someone will ask,

how were the dead raised?

What kind of body

do they come?

With what kind of body?

Because if you don't think

much of the body,

and you get to hear,

well,

you're going to have a body

for all eternity,

maybe that's not

that exciting,

right?

Because bodies,

they hurt,

and they break,

and they get old,

and they get fat,

and you just think,

why would I want a body

for all eternity?

And so Paul says,

no,

no,

no,

you fool.

You'll get a better body.

It's a transformed body.

It's like,

well,

verse 37,

you know,

what you sow

is not a body

that is to be,

but a bare seed,

perhaps of wheat

or of some other grain.

It's going to be

a transformed body.

And so,

I have here

an apple seed.

Most of you can't see it.

I had an apple this morning.

If I put this in the ground,

I don't get an apple seed

out of it.

What do I get?

Well,

I get like an apple tree,

beautiful,

full of apples.

I get something,

I mean,

it's the same thing,

but it's not,

right?

It's transformed.

It's far better.

Well,

Paul says,

that is what your body will be,

right?

When you die,

you get planted in the ground,

right?

And then,

what comes out

isn't just the same old you.

It is a better,

transformed you,

right?

So,

we get all these adjectives.

Verse 42,

right?

This is the resurrection of the dead.

What is sown is perishable.

What is raised is imperishable.

It is sown in dishonor.

It is raised in glory.

It's sown in weakness.

It's raised in power.

It's sown in natural body.

It's raised in spiritual body.

That doesn't mean physical versus spiritual.

It means a kind of,

you know,

just natural power versus spirit and powers,

something like that.

It doesn't mean non-physical,

but better,

right?

You know,

Adam and Christ.

Adam was made of the dust.

Christ is from heaven,

right?

It's going to be better.

You're going to be,

yeah,

your body will be better.

It's beyond the Garden of Eden.

I think the best illustration is Jesus himself,

right?

Jesus is our prototype.

He has a resurrection body.

Now,

he looked like Jesus.

It was physical.

He could eat and fish and drink and those kind of things.

It was recognizably Jesus,

but also he could teleport and walk through walls,

right?

It's a,

he had a better body.

Well,

it's the same for us.

We will have a better body.

Now,

how will it be better?

We don't really know all the details.

I mean,

a big thing we know,

no more sin,

right?

Our bodies are now full of sin.

That will all be gone.

And there will be no more sluggishness when trying to obey God.

There's no,

nothing holding you back,

right?

We will be perfectly glorifying God with our lives.

That is a big thing.

No more brokenness.

All the things from two weeks ago,

the damage and disease and defects and decay,

nothing of that.

Of course,

we'll still have some limitations.

We're creatures,

but some other limitations will be gone.

Something like that,

right?

Of course,

we don't know.

How old will I look?

No idea.

If I jump off the building,

will I die or will I just not,

I won't die,

but,

you know,

or will I just not jump off buildings?

I have no idea.

But,

here's the idea.

We can just trust God,

but you will have a better body.

You know,

more,

you'll be more alive now,

than,

than now.

It will be more real than now.

Right?

So,

maybe you like hiking here.

How about hiking in a transformed body in the new creation?

Maybe you like music.

How about playing music with a transformed body in the new creation,

with transformed ears?

Right?

The idea is,

it's going to be so much better.

And you have an amazing future to look forward to.

And it's a great hope.

And if any of you here are currently struggling with the brokenness of this world,

of our bodies,

maybe of family members that you need to care for,

what a hope.

Right?

You know,

two weeks ago,

I said,

hey,

it's temporary.

Well,

here it is.

It is,

that is temporary,

because we have this great future.

One day,

a new body,

no more sin,

no more pain,

no more death.

God will make everything right.

That's our,

a great hope.

And,

and even if you're not struggling at the moment,

even if life is great,

this should be exciting.

This should be,

you know,

sometimes you think,

oh,

life is hard.

Jesus,

please come back.

You know,

you should want Jesus to come back on your wedding day.

I know,

but imagine you're,

you're getting married,

right?

Saying you've been dating for years,

and then you're planning the wedding,

and,

uh,

everything is ready,

and it's the great day,

and,

the bride is walking down the aisle,

and then,

Jesus is here.

What would you say?

Amen,

Jesus,

what,

could you come one day later?

What?

No,

we should think,

wow,

this is better than getting married,

right?

Jesus is coming back,

the resurrection.

It's,

it's a,

it's,

it's not just another life,

it's a better,

everlasting life,

and,

and that's what,

what we need,

right?

I mean,

I don't know,

sometimes we're tempted to sin,

and think,

well,

but I don't want to throw away my Christian life.

Uh,

I love this cartoon about,

uh,

you know,

the,

the cloud,

and this guy sitting there,

wish I'd brought a magazine.

I mean,

if that's what you think about the future,

that's not really going to help you,

right?

You're tempted to sin,

oh man,

I don't want to lose my harp and my dress.

No,

of course you're going to give in to sin,

if you think the future isn't worth living for.

Yeah?

No,

we have an amazing future.

And,

basically,

what I want us all to see,

well,

you won't miss out later.

You will have an amazing future.

If you're a Christian,

if you're in Christ,

uh,

you know,

God loves this creation,

and he will make a new creation,

and it's going to be amazing.

You're not going to miss out.

I think for some of us,

is that the fact that you won't miss out,

means we can have,

we can be content now.

Right?

Because,

for some of us here,

actually,

we really feel that there are things that we want to do,

but we can't.

Imagine,

yeah,

like,

if you're Sebastian,

and you can't see well,

and there's so much beauty to see in this world,

and you can't see it,

that must be really hard.

And if this is your only life,

that's a real pity.

But,

there's a new creation,

and you're going to have amazing eyes,

and to see amazing beauty,

and you're not going to miss anything from this world.

Right?

It's okay.

It's okay to not see this world,

because you're going to be in the new creation.

Others of you,

maybe there's things you,

were able to do in the past,

and you can't do them anymore.

That's okay.

You're going to do much more in the future.

Maybe responsibilities.

Maybe there's so much you want to do,

but you have kids,

or you have elderly parents,

and you just are unable to do those kind of things.

It's okay.

You can be content.

You'll do them later.

I mean,

for me,

I'd love to see Australia.

I heard it's really beautiful.

But yeah,

I've got three kids.

I've got family in two different countries.

We need to see.

I may never see Australia.

That's okay.

Because I will go to the new creation.

Right?

It's okay not to see Australia.

Maybe if you're from Australia,

you may not think so.

But right?

It's okay.

I hope that encourages us.

If we're feeling that,

if we're feeling the limitations at the moment,

yeah,

you have a wonderful future.

You will not miss out later.

But I also want to speak to the rest of us

who kind of don't feel that at the moment.

Because many of us here,

we're young,

and we're single,

or we're married without kids.

And actually,

we can get a lot out of this life.

We don't have many responsibilities

or limitations yet.

Others of us,

we're a bit older,

but we have a lot of money.

Right?

And so,

there's many of us here

who can make the most of this life.

Right?

Which is where we started.

What would Paul say to us?

And Paul says to us,

well,

if we have resurrection bodies,

we should have resurrection priorities.

resurrection priorities.

Because what does Paul say we should be doing?

Well,

the last verse of that chapter,

verse 58.

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.

He wants them to be doing the work of the Lord.

Now,

what is that?

Is that your job as a lawyer or doctor?

Well,

the next chapter,

16,

verse 10.

What does Paul say?

He talks about Timothy.

When Timothy comes,

see that you put him at ease among you,

for he is doing the work of the Lord,

as I am.

And so,

this is the stuff that Timothy and Paul do.

The work of the Lord is gospel work.

It's evangelism.

It's making disciples.

Right?

It's things that build the church.

Right?

Things to do with God's salvation plan.

That is what we should be doing,

if we understand the resurrection,

Paul says.

Now,

why is that?

Now,

there's a few reasons in this passage.

One big thing is,

of course,

you know,

think of this,

you know,

we've been thinking about me,

right?

Me and my body.

Actually,

think of this incredibly great future,

what this actually means.

This is the fulfillment of all God's plan.

Right?

This is the final step of his plan to restore everything.

This is not just about you.

There's like a billion Christians who will all receive a resurrection body on that day.

Right?

It's going to be the greatest day ever.

It's why Paul goes on to talk about,

you know,

victory.

Death is swallowed up in victory.

Death,

where's your victory?

It's this whole crowd of people changed who are cheering and celebrating.

Right?

We've seen the Olympics or the European championships.

You have all these people,

you know,

celebrating their country that has won and they're all cheering.

Yay!

And,

you know,

and that is going to be the last day.

You know,

the last enemy is defeated and we'll all go,

yo,

death,

you loser,

you've lost and Christ has won.

And it's going to be a great celebration.

The most wonderful day in history as Christ's victory is just there for all to see.

And we're all celebrating.

And the work of the Lord is what contributes to that.

Right?

If people are saved,

they will be there.

You know,

that calling you're trying to reach out to and they believe they will be there.

Part of the celebration.

But it should be so.

Yeah.

It's not just about me.

This is such a great plan to be part of,

to join in.

Right?

It says,

this is not in vain.

Your work for the Lord is not in vain.

Maybe now,

you know,

you're reading the Bible with someone and not much seems to be happening.

On that day,

you will see it's not in vain.

See what Christ has done.

See that as they stand there celebrating.

No,

it's not in vain.

But at the same time,

there's another reason.

Why can we have resurrection priorities?

Well,

if we have such a great future,

if we have another life,

actually,

maybe this life is a bit less important.

We can spend it on other things.

Because Paul says,

hey,

why don't you look at me and the apostles?

That's what he's saying to the Corinthians earlier in that,

that first paragraph that we read.

Because the Corinthians,

they don't believe in the resurrection.

And Paul says,

look,

this is such a basic Christian belief.

Look at me.

Look at the other apostles.

Look at how we live.

And how does he live?

Well,

verse 30.

Hey,

Corinthians,

why are we in danger every hour?

I die every day.

Look,

why do we apostles,

yeah,

why do we live as we do?

Why do we go around church planting?

Why do we not settle down?

But we go around planting churches,

we get put in prison,

we get persecuted,

we work hard,

we get opposed.

Why do we live such a life?

Why would you do that,

why would we do that,

Corinthians?

Well,

because of the resurrection,

right?

Look,

verse 32.

What do I gain

if,

humanly speaking,

I fought with beasts at Ephesus?

It's like,

imagine,

gladiator,

right?

You know,

you're in the arena,

fighting with beasts,

right?

You're there with your sword,

trying to fight against lions.

It's not a good idea,

right?

What do you gain?

You just die.

Why would I do that?

Why would I waste my life like that?

Because that's what they were doing,

right,

in the eyes of the world.

If they,

you know,

if there's no future,

we would live differently.

The rest of verse 33,

32,

you know,

if the dead are not raised,

let us eat and drink,

for tomorrow we die.

You know,

if there's no future,

well,

YOLO,

well,

let's eat and drink,

go to the best restaurants,

travel,

you know,

get married,

you know,

do all those things,

because this is your only life.

But the thing is,

we don't do that.

Why don't we do that?

Because we have another life.

We have,

we won't miss out later,

and therefore,

we can miss out now.

I mean,

that's why the Corinthian church

was such a mess.

You may wonder,

why were the Corinthians

sleeping with prostitutes

and going to the idol temple

to get the best food

and suing each other for money

and getting drunk

at the Lord's Supper?

Why were they doing those things?

Well,

because this is their only life,

they thought.

And so,

YOLO,

right?

Let's get the most out of it.

But Paul says,

you don't need to.

You don't need to do that

because you have another one

and you can give up this life.

Now,

I'm not saying

we should all become missionaries.

It doesn't have to be

God's call on all of us.

But you have to admit

of our priorities,

right?

What are the most important things

we can do right now?

I mean,

why is Jesus not here yet?

Why don't we have

a resurrection body yet?

Well,

the Bible tells us,

2 Peter 3,

2 Peter 3:9

verse 9,

the Lord is not slow

to fulfill his promise

that some count slowness,

but he's patient towards you,

not wanting anyone to perish,

but all to reach repentance.

Jesus isn't here yet

because he wants more people

to be saved.

That's what he is doing.

I mean,

he's not delaying

so you can watch more Netflix

and see more countries.

He is here to,

he's delaying to save more people.

Right?

I mean,

all those things

are not bad things,

they're good things.

It's good to travel,

it's good to enjoy food,

they're all good things.

The only thing is,

you will also do them later.

But saving people

can only be done now,

right?

When Jesus returns,

there is not going to be

any more opportunity

to repent.

No one can be saved anymore.

But enjoying yourself,

you can do later.

And so,

I mean,

if all my to-do list,

there are things

that need to be done today

and things without a deadline,

I will focus on the things

that need to be done today.

And Paul says,

that's what we should be doing.

Right?

The work of the Lord

can only be done now.

And,

you know,

you won't miss out later,

so you can miss out now.

You can adjust your priorities

to prioritize

the work,

the gospel.

Prioritize discipleship.

Prioritize evangelism.

Because this is the greatest thing

you can be involved in

and,

you know,

you won't miss out.

You won't miss out on anything.

Yeah?

I mean,

most of us know that.

I mean,

I gave you,

at the start,

five years to live.

If I told you

you've got six months

left to live,

I think most of you

wouldn't travel the world,

right?

You want to spend time

with family.

You want to make sure

your kids really know

about Jesus

and your family members.

Most of us know,

okay,

if it's really urgent,

yeah,

I know what I need to do.

Prioritize people.

Prioritize the gospel.

The only thing is,

we don't think

we have six months

left to live.

We have a long,

we have decades

still to live.

And so,

we end up living

just for now,

as if there's no future.

And Paul says,

no.

Yeah?

you can do that later.

You won't miss out later.

You can miss out now.

Now,

well,

what would that look like?

Let me just give a few examples

from kind of small things

to big things.

You know,

the work of the Lord.

What do you need?

I guess it needs time,

right?

Because it's people work,

you need to be with people

to read the Bible with them

or to evangelize them.

It needs money

because missionaries

need to go across the world.

So,

well,

can we reprioritize

some of our time and money?

Something simple.

Watching TV.

I mean,

it's good to watch TV.

It's nice to switch off your brain.

You know,

maybe you're watching

10 hours a week.

Do you need to watch 10 hours?

Or do you also get a break

if you watch 8 hours?

Well,

if 8 hours is enough,

maybe those 2 hours

you can spend time

befriending someone.

Maybe you can read the Bible

with someone, right?

Very simple thing,

but you're prioritizing

the work of the Lord.

You're not cutting off all TV.

You know,

TV is good.

It's good to relax.

But actually,

you know,

I don't need more than this.

Why do more

than I need?

Something like that.

Or,

you're at work.

You know,

how do you spend

your lunch breaks?

I think many of us,

we, you know,

you just get food

and you eat it behind your desk

so that you can

do more work

and be a better worker.

Well,

you could prioritize

the work of the Lord

if you are able to.

Why not read the Bible

with someone over lunch?

It does mean

a whole lunch break.

Maybe you get

slightly less work done.

You know,

slightly less good review

at the end of the year.

Slightly less bonus.

Slightly less holiday this year.

That's okay, right?

Because you're prioritizing

the work of the Lord.

There are small examples.

Let me give some bigger examples.

So,

I knew a guy in England

and he was this kind of

top finance guy.

And he could go to Australia

with his family.

No problem.

The only thing is

he didn't.

He would just go camping.

Why would he go camping?

Well,

he said,

well,

that's all I need,

right?

I get time with family.

I get time away from work.

That's all I need.

But the advantage is

at the end of the summer

he would have

$100,000

in his bank account left.

and those $100,000

he could give to mission work.

I mean,

that's a bigger decision,

right?

But he would say,

hey,

I don't need to see Australia.

I don't need all this.

I can spend my money better

and I can still get a holiday.

I don't know

what you think of that.

Or,

here's another one.

I once read a blog post

by some woman.

She became a stay-at-home mom,

right?

So she stopped working

when she had kids

and,

you know,

wanted to really invest

in her kids.

And she wrote this blog post

and she said,

you know,

everyone keeps telling me

you're giving up

your career.

And she said,

I'm not giving up my career.

I'm postponing my career.

Because in the new creation,

we'll be working,

right?

We'll be...

It's a physical creation.

And so I will have

an amazing career later.

I will have a career.

Just not now.

Right now,

I want to invest in my kids

so they know Jesus

and so that they

are raised properly,

right?

That's an interesting way

of thinking,

right?

You will have

a great career later.

You...

Therefore,

you don't need it now.

I'm not saying

a career is bad

because we will have

a career later,

right?

Careers are good.

And some of us,

many of us,

we need it to work,

right?

Many families,

yeah,

you need two incomes

because Hong Kong

is so expensive.

But,

maybe a career

in this life

is not the most

important thing.

Maybe you don't need

to maximize your potential.

You'll do that later.

You don't need to use

all your gifts.

You will do that later.

Right?

I mean,

that's a very big decision.

But,

just to give you

some examples,

okay,

here are people

who really

get the new creation

and think,

okay,

if that is true,

you know,

I can make some changes

in my life.

And none of these

are bad things.

It's good to have a rest.

It's good to have a break.

It's good to have

a new experience.

But,

at the same time,

right,

we will do that

later as well.

And so,

maybe we can

prioritize

the work of the Lord.

Make that our

priority.

And live a

more simple,

stripped down life

just because

the gospel

is such an important thing.

I mean,

it is challenging.

It's challenging for me.

It's challenging

for each one of us.

But,

be honest,

would anyone

be disappointed

when Jesus returns?

Will any of us

be there

and think,

oh man,

I missed out

on season five

of that series?

Man,

I wish I had

invested more

in my career.

None of us

will do that,

right?

We will be there

and think,

man,

I wish I prayed more.

I wish I shared

the gospel

with more people.

That's what we'll be

feeling,

I think.

So,

let's have

this great

future vision.

I wanted to finish

with an amazing

letter that expresses

some of this so well.

There was a missionary

called Adoniram Judson.

He was a missionary

early 19th century

to Myanmar.

And he wanted

to go on mission,

but he also

was in love

with this girl.

And if they got married,

well,

she'd have to come

with him.

And so,

he wrote a letter

to her father

asking,

hey,

can I marry her?

But,

you know,

this is what it means.

And,

you know,

this is what he asked

the father.

I have now

to ask

whether you can

consent

to part

with your daughter

early next spring,

to see her

no more

in this world,

whether you can

consent to her

departure to a

heathen land

and her subjection

to the hardships

and sufferings

of a missionary life,

whether you can

consent to her

exposure to the

dangers of the ocean,

to the fatal

influence of the

southern climate

of India,

to every kind

of want and distress,

to degradation,

insult,

persecution,

and perhaps

a violent death.

Now,

why would you

do that,

right?

Why would you

let your daughter

do that

if this is

your only life?

Well,

he goes on.

Think about

the big picture.

Can you consent

to all this

for the sake

of him

who left

his heavenly home

and died

for her

and for you,

for the sake

of perishing

immortal souls,

for the sake

of Zion

and the glory

of God?

Now,

think about

the big picture.

And again,

you won't lose out,

right?

Can you consent

to all this

in hope of soon

meeting your daughter

in the world of glory?

I mean,

you're not going to

see your daughter

for a while,

but you'll see her

again,

right?

In 20 years' time,

you'll be together

forever.

It's okay,

but something

will have changed.

You will see

your daughter

in the world

of glory

with a crown

of righteousness,

brightened

by the acclamations

of praise,

which shall

resound

to her Savior

from he even

saved,

through her means

from eternal

woe and despair.

Right?

Now you will see

your daughter

and you will see

all these other

people who have

been saved

through her

because she went

on mission work.

Isn't that worth

sending your daughter

for,

right?

You know,

Paul says,

the labor in the

Lord is not

in vain.

And actually,

some of the other

things we do

in this life

will be in vain,

right?

I mean,

she will be there

with all those

people.

And if we've

just lived our

life here

and we've just

done our

career and TV,

won't be much

to celebrate.

In a way,

we will miss out

later in that

sense,

right?

We'll,

you know,

less to celebrate.

No.

You have an

amazing future

body.

You can miss

out now

for something

much greater,

more glorious.

Don't we

want that?

Let's,

let's think

about it.

Let's think,

okay,

if this is true,

do I really

believe this?

And what does

this mean for me?

And I think

a very good time

to reflect

will be in a

moment.

We're going to

take the Lord's

Supper.

And,

you know,

this is,

of course,

Jesus'

body and

blood.

It's also

a little

foretaste,

right?

One day,

we will be

with Jesus

at the

wedding supper

of the Lamb.

Now,

wedding suppers,

this is not a

wedding supper,

right?

This is nothing.

Last week,

I was at a

wedding.

It was a lot

better than

this,

right?

You know,

this is not

it.

When you come

and take

this,

okay,

Jesus,

I know

this is not

it.

This life

is not

it.

You know,

my life

is just

this.

Later

is a

wedding

banquet.

And I

trust you

for that.

And then,

are you

willing to

give that

up?

Just like

Jesus was.

Because Jesus

could have

settled down.

Jesus

could have

spent more

time with

the disciples.

But what did

he say at

the last

supper?

He said,

you know,

I will no

longer drink

of the fruit

of the vine

until I

drink it

with you

in my

Father's

kingdom.

And Jesus

gave up

his life.

You know,

he gave

up the fruit

of the vine

now so he

can have it

later with

us at

a wedding

banquet.

As we

take the

Lord's

supper,

you know,

remember

Jesus'

love.

Remember

his sacrifice

for you,

giving up

everything to

save you.

And would

we follow

him?

We won't

miss out

later.

Let's

prioritize

his salvation

plan,

his mission

work,

the work

of the

Lord in

our lives,

knowing we

will be with

him forever.

We won't

miss out.

why don't

we give

us 30

seconds

silence,

then I'll

pray for

us,

and during

the time

the music

team and

the communion

stewards can

come forward.

Amen.

Let's

pray.

Father,

thank you

for the

great future

we see

here.

Thank you

that you

will make

everything

right.

Thank you

that if we

trust in

Jesus,

we'll be

part of

that.

Thank you

that it's

certain

and it's

more

wonderful

than

anything

here in

this

life.

Father,

would we

live like

that?

Would you

help us

to see

what is

important?

See Jesus

and what

he did?

And would

we follow

him in

the way

we live?

Lord,

would you

use this

time to

strengthen

us?

We

remember

what Jesus

said at

the last

supper.

Remember

that how

he took

bread and

when he

had given

thanks,

he broke

it and

said,

this is

my body

which is

for you.

Do this

in remembrance

of me.

In the

same way

also,

he took

the cup

after supper

saying,

this cup

is the

new covenant

in my

blood.

Do this

as often

as you

drink it

in remembrance

of me.

For as

often as

you eat

this bread

and drink

the cup,

you proclaim

the Lord's

death

until he

comes.

So as

we take

this,

would we

proclaim

the Lord's

death?

Would we

proclaim

that that

is our

hope?

Our hope

is not

here in

this life.

Our hope

is the

resurrection

when we'll

see Jesus

face to

face.

So

strengthen

our faith,

send us

out,

renewed

by our

great hope.

In Jesus

name.

Amen.

Amen.