Sermon

"Faithful Unto Death: Embracing God's Promises" by Denver Young

Cumberland Trace Church of Christ (Formerly Lehman Ave Church of Christ)

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  1. I appreciate it very much, somebody thinking of me and got the

  2. chair for me. And I told them I'll see how it goes without it.

  3. If I need it, I'll use it. I'm not ashamed to use

  4. it. I stand up all

  5. I can, do fairly well as long

  6. as I got something to steady me. But if I have something not to steady

  7. me, don't count on me standing very long. If there's a movement

  8. around me. Appreciate very much everyone's

  9. presence this evening. And I was talking about last week, you know,

  10. talking about church attendance,

  11. worship assembly attendance, all those things that

  12. we should count as a norm, not an

  13. exception. And that's the way I was brought up,

  14. but as thing to do.

  15. And I've noticed over the years, seems like the key

  16. ingredient— talking about faithful unto death and talking

  17. about being faithful throughout life— I think

  18. one of the key ingredients is that how faithful are we in our

  19. attendance? Not only are we commanded to assemble

  20. and worship and so forth, but also points

  21. out in the Scripture very plainly the benefits it is for us

  22. if we do that. And I think that's the key ingredient to keeping

  23. us faithful as we assemble together, as we come

  24. even midweek. Of course, I recognize I'm talking to the

  25. wrong audience about this, but I think the more we participate,

  26. the more we study, the more we learn, I think that's the key ingredient

  27. that we stay faithful throughout life.

  28. I want to talk tonight some about the fact

  29. of being faithful unto death and being

  30. faithful throughout life. Also,

  31. I want to talk some about the

  32. fact that as we learn and as we study,

  33. we become more dependent and more understanding

  34. on the promises that God has made to us. And that's

  35. what I was talking about tonight. Neil put that in as

  36. Embracing God's promises. And I think

  37. as we go throughout scripture, starting all the way from

  38. the foundations of the world, the very earliest time

  39. in history, it's been God's

  40. plan that we have a Redeemer.

  41. And he promised that to us. He promised to us that

  42. we would have a Redeemer.

  43. And I know there's a lot of challenges

  44. and so forth comes about when we think about different things, but when

  45. we really put our mind to it and we think about the promises

  46. that God has made to us, and we think about

  47. his fulfillment of the promises that he has made in the past that have

  48. come about, we can be fully assured

  49. as the Scripture tells us that what God says he will do, he will do.

  50. And I don't think any of us here this evening has any doubt whatsoever that

  51. what God tells us he will do, that it will come about.

  52. But in the very beginning of time, God had

  53. in mind, even before the foundation of the world, that we were

  54. going to have a Redeemer. And it's promised

  55. to us in Genesis 3:15, the first

    Genesis 3:15

  56. announcement I think here of a Savior coming.

  57. It tells us about— let's look at that in Genesis

    Genesis 3 chapter mention

  58. chapter 3, beginning at verse 15.

  59. When man fell in the garden,

  60. even before he pronounced the curse upon the man,

  61. he made this statement. He said that there is going

  62. to be a redeemer.

  63. Genesis 3:15,

    Genesis 3:15

  64. and I will put enmity between you and the woman.

  65. Let's back up just a little bit and get the full context of that.

  66. So the Lord, in verse 14, so the

  67. Lord God said to the serpent, because you

  68. have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle,

  69. and more than every beast of the field. On your

  70. belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all

  71. the days of your life. You know, there's no lower

  72. place than on your belly eating dust, is it? But that's a curse

  73. that God put on the serpent. Then it goes on and says,

  74. I will put enmity between you and the woman,

  75. between your seed and her seed. He shall bruise

  76. your head, and you shall bruise his heel.

  77. To the woman he said, I will greatly multiply your sorrow

  78. in your conception; in pain you shall bring forth children.

  79. Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.

  80. Then he tells Adam the curse that he has. Then to Adam he said,

  81. because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the

  82. tree, of which I commanded you, saying, you shall not eat of it.

  83. Cursed is the ground for your sake; toil

  84. you shall eat of it all the days of your life.

  85. Thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the

  86. herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread,

  87. till you return unto the ground; for out of it you were taken,

  88. dust you are, to dust you shall return.

  89. That curse was placed on Adam. That curse follows us

  90. today. We go out, we plant, we plant

  91. the seed, also thistles come forth, and we still

  92. have to toil and sweat in order to earn a living.

  93. That's the curse that was placed on Adam. However, God promised

  94. that there would be a time when there would be a Savior.

  95. Let's look now at Titus 1:2.

    Titus 1:2

  96. Titus 1:2.

    Titus 1:2

  97. To get

  98. the context, let's go up to verse 1. Paul, a bondservant of God, and the

  99. apostle of Jesus Christ according to the faith of God, elect acknowledgment

  100. of the truth which accords with godliness

  101. in hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie,

  102. promised before time began.

  103. So wasn't Titus saying— Paul writing Titus said,

  104. when did God promise this? Before time

  105. began. You know, when God promises something,

  106. He promised that we'd have a Savior. So what happened?

  107. In the fullness of time, that means, simply means that when

  108. time was right in God's time, a Savior came

  109. to this world. He went to the cross,

  110. shed his blood, gave his life that we can have

  111. life. Back up to 2 Timothy 1:9.

    2 Timothy 1:9

  112. 2 Timothy 1:9.

    2 Timothy 1:9

  113. Let's go back to verse 8: Therefore do not be

  114. ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner,

  115. but share with me in the suffering for the gospel according to the power of

  116. God, who has saved us, called us

  117. with a holy calling, Not according to our works, but according

  118. to his own purpose and grace which was given to us

  119. in Christ Jesus, when? Before time

  120. began. 1 Peter chapter 1.

    1 Peter 1 chapter mention

  121. 1 Peter chapter 1, verse 19 and 21.

    1 Peter 1:19

  122. 19 through 21.

  123. But with the precious blood of Christ, as a lamb

  124. without blemish, without spot, he indeed was foreordained

  125. before the foundation of the world. When? Before the foundation

  126. of the world. But was manifest in these last days for

  127. you, Who through him believe in God, who raised him

  128. from the dead, gave him glory, so that your

  129. faith and hope are in God.

  130. So we see in all these passages here the promises that

  131. was made, promise of a coming Savior.

  132. He came in the fullness of time.

  133. He went to the cross. He shed his blood.

  134. He was buried. He was resurrected.

  135. He brought in the new covenant. He also brought

  136. in the latter days, which are the days between the

  137. cross and the second coming of Christ.

  138. And he brought all this in as was promised by God

  139. before time. So we think

  140. about the promises that God had made even before

  141. the time, beginning of time. And we go back

  142. and think about those things and we see

  143. where these promises has already come into being.

  144. These promises all came into being according to God's

  145. timetable at the time that he wanted to bring

  146. them into effect. So we talk about embracing God's

  147. promise. What are we talking about? We're talking about choosing

  148. to actively trust. We're talking about

  149. believing. We're talking about live by

  150. the assurance and the commitments that

  151. God makes in his Word. You know, an active

  152. trust We actively trust something, we believe

  153. fully in it. We believe in it enough that we can put

  154. all of our trust and assurance in it. And we

  155. know the Scripture, we can rely fully upon God's character.

  156. When life is certainty of God, his character

  157. always demonstrated what he promised he will do.

  158. He does not change. You know, the world changes.

  159. A lot of things changes. But it says God is

  160. the same today, tomorrow, yesterday, and forever.

  161. God is not changing. So he does not change as

  162. the world changes, and he is completely dependable.

  163. Let's look at Psalms chapter 37.

    Psalms 37 chapter mention

  164. In Psalm chapter 37, we see the assurances that

    Psalms 37 chapter mention

  165. God has promised unto those that are faithful to him.

  166. Let's start in verse 23.

  167. The psalmist says that the steps of a good

  168. man are ordered by the Lord.

  169. That simply means that steps that we take day to day,

  170. do we let the Lord, do we let God direct those

  171. steps, or do we try to direct those steps on

  172. our own? You know, scripture says it's not within

  173. man to direct his own ways. We're dependent

  174. upon God to direct our steps.

  175. God created us. He knows what's in us.

  176. And he says it's not in us to direct our own steps.

  177. He says, the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord.

  178. He delights in his way. Though he

  179. fall, he shall not utterly be cast

  180. down. Now there's a difference in stumbling and falling

  181. than it is being cast down and can't get up, isn't it?

  182. God provides a way for us to get back up.

  183. He's got that ever-loving hand there ready to lift us back

  184. up. Just as the parable of the prodigal son,

  185. God is watching for us to get back

  186. up. He's wanting us back up. He's inviting

  187. us back up. And simply by prayer, repentance and prayer,

  188. we can get back up when we stumble and when we fall.

  189. Then he goes on and says this very interesting thing. He says,

  190. I've been young and now am old.

  191. You have not seen the righteous forsaken nor

  192. his descendants begging bread. He is ever

  193. merciful and

  194. his descendants are blessed. And he says,

  195. Depart from evil and do good, and dwell

  196. forevermore. For the Lord loves justice and does not

  197. forsake his saints. They are preserved forever,

  198. but the descendants of the wicked will be cut off.

  199. The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell in it

  200. forever. It's God's promise to the righteous

  201. that we will have an inheritance. What's he promised to

  202. the wicked? That they will be cut off. God's promises

  203. are true, and they are faithful. And just as he says they will

  204. do, they will do. So as we

  205. look at that particular passage there,

  206. it gives us an indication how steady God's

  207. hand is with us. Ultimate justice for

  208. the righteous, Compared to the fleeting path of the wicked.

  209. God is forever there. He will not

  210. let his saints be forsaken.

  211. Let's look at 2 Peter chapter 3.

    2 Peter 3 chapter mention

  212. In that particular passage it's talking about, or that particular chapter

  213. is talking about the fact that God

  214. is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness,

  215. but he's longsuffering. And we should appreciate the fact that

  216. God is longsuffering with us. How many

  217. times have we needed God to be longsuffering with us?

  218. Every day that he waits about coming again,

  219. that gives opportunity to those that have not— that is not obedient

  220. to the plan of salvation. Every day there's

  221. those added. The Lord adds to the church daily those that are being

  222. saved. So if he's slack concerning his promise,

  223. it's not slackness, but it's rather giving

  224. opportunity for repentance.

  225. Let's look at that chapter just for a moment.

  226. Beloved, I write to you this second epistle,

  227. in both which to stir up your pure minds, By the

  228. way of reminder. Peter many times talks

  229. about the fact of reminding. And we all need

  230. to be reminded from time to time, don't we? We need to understand

  231. that we are forgetful people. And that's one benefit

  232. of coming together in midweek or whenever we assemble together to study the scriptures,

  233. to remind each other. Probably I'll not tell y'all anything

  234. you haven't heard many times. But we can remind each other of things

  235. that we already know, and we can emphasize

  236. things that we might need to work on. And we might remind each other

  237. that there are some things that we need reminding of,

  238. we maybe haven't thought about for a while.

  239. But Peter says that we remind each other of these

  240. things, that you may be mindful of the words which

  241. were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandments

  242. of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior. In other words,

  243. he said, mind those things that's been spoken to you.

  244. We mind those things that we're taught every time we come together.

  245. We're minded of those things that Neil and Harm

  246. brings to us. We're reminded— we mind ourselves of those things

  247. that's taught in classes. Knowing this first,

  248. that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts.

  249. That's really a promise to us that we're going to have scoffers, and we have

  250. them. And they're going to be walking in their

  251. own lusts. They're going to try to deceive. They're going to try to

  252. place doubt on the Lord's second coming.

  253. Whatever they can do to hinder us in

  254. our worship and service of God, they're going to try to do.

  255. They come in the last days. The last days

  256. are all the days between the cross and the coming of the Lord

  257. the second time. And saying, then they say,

  258. where is the promise of his coming?

  259. What's that question for? That question is to put doubt in

  260. the mind of the believers. They say,

  261. where is that? He said he's going to come. He promised to come. Where's he

  262. at? I think in the New— probably in

  263. the New Testament, I don't know. I've never counted them, but it seems like I

  264. read or heard that over 300 times

  265. we're told that the Lord is coming again, second time.

  266. We're told that. And it's implied a lot more

  267. times. And he is coming again.

  268. Let's not be like the lady was that went to the— every

  269. time she went to service in a little country church, she wanted to sit on

  270. the front seat up next to where the preacher was. And the

  271. preacher was preaching one day and he said, he's going

  272. to quote the scripture. He wants to quote the scripture

  273. in Revelation that says, behold, I come, and he couldn't remember the rest of the

  274. word. So he backs up and he tries it again the second time.

  275. He says, behold, I come. It just couldn't come to him.

  276. So he thought the third time was a charm. He backed up and said,

  277. behold, I come. He stepped too far. That time

  278. he went in her lap of the little lady and she said,

  279. He's quite embarrassed. You said, it's not your fault.

  280. It's not your fault at all. You told me 3 times you was coming and

  281. I didn't do anything about it. Well, the Lord tells us

  282. over 300 times he's coming.

  283. We need to do something else about it.

  284. So when we think about what Peter says here in

  285. the latter days, there's going to be scoffers,

  286. trying to deter us from doing what's right,

  287. trying to get us off track. He says, knowing this first, as they

  288. come walking according to their own lusts. And then

  289. verse 4, he says, saying, where is the promise of his coming? For since the

  290. fathers fell asleep, all things continue as it was from the beginning of creation.

  291. Now verse 5 explains this. Peter explains this, for the

  292. And this they willfully— what's it mean willfully?

  293. That means intentionally. Willfully forget,

  294. that by the Word of God the heavens were of

  295. old, the earth standing out of the water and in the water,

  296. by which the world that then existed perished,

  297. being flooded by water, but the heavens and the earth which

  298. are now preserved by the same Word,

  299. are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and prediction

  300. of ungodly men. What's God promising us first?

  301. No, he promised he wasn't going to destroy the world by water

  302. anymore, but he also promised here he's going to destroy it by fire, didn't he?

  303. But the heavens and the earth,

  304. now preserved by the same word,

  305. same word that God used to create the heavens and the earth, are also

  306. preserved Until fullness

  307. of time comes when it's time to be no more.

  308. But beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is

  309. a thousand years and a thousand years is one

  310. day. Time has no effect on God.

  311. The Lord is not slack, in verse 9,

  312. concerning his promise, as some men count slackness.

  313. But he is longsuffering toward us, not willing any should perish,

  314. all should come to repentance. Now verse 10,

  315. he says, the day of the Lord will come.

  316. That's a promise. As a thief in the night,

  317. heavens will pass away with a great noise,

  318. elements will melt with fervent heat,

  319. Both the earth and the works that are in it will be

  320. Therefore, now notice what it says here. Therefore, if all

  321. these things are to be dissolved,

  322. what manner of person ought ye to be in holy conduct

  323. and godliness? So all these things, if all these

  324. things are going to come about, What the

  325. question is asking us, what kind of conduct, what kind

  326. of way of life should we and best we be

  327. living? Since all these things will be dissolved,

  328. what manner of person? What kind of person are we?

  329. Are we ready for the Lord's coming? Have we done everything

  330. we can to prepare ourselves for the Coming of the Lord,

  331. all these things are going to be dissolved. What manner of

  332. conduct and godliness?

  333. Now, if we're ready, we know

  334. all these things are going to be burned up, all things are going to be

  335. destroyed, all things melt away. And if

  336. we really believe that,

  337. And we're ready. Verse 12 says,

  338. and we can be looking for, and we can be hasting

  339. to the coming of the day of God, because of which

  340. the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire,

  341. and elements will melt with fervent heat. Nevertheless,

  342. we, according to a new promise, look for new heavens and a

  343. new earth in which righteousness dwells.

  344. He says in verse 14, be diligent, be found

  345. by him in peace, without spot

  346. and blameless. And consider

  347. the longsuffering of our Lord as salvation,

  348. as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom

  349. given to him, has written to you.

  350. And also in all his epistles, speaking in them of

  351. these things, some hard to understand,

  352. which untaught and unstable people twist in

  353. their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scripture.

  354. But beloved, since ye know this beforehand,

  355. beware lest ye also fall away from your own

  356. steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked,

  357. but grow in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior

  358. Jesus Christ. To him be glory now and forever. Amen.

  359. So the key to this passage is that we grow,

  360. that we study, that we know, that we recognize the

  361. fact that these people come in to destroy our faith.

  362. Let's go to Galatians chapter 6.

    Galatians 6 chapter mention

  363. And Galatians chapter 6 talks about this

    Galatians 6 chapter mention

  364. present life and sowing either

  365. to the flesh or to the Spirit.

  366. Galatians chapter 6, let's go down to verse 6

    Galatians 6 chapter mention

  367. through 10.

  368. Says, be generous, at the heading of that passage. Be generous

  369. and do good. Let him who is taught the Word

  370. share in all good things with him who teaches.

  371. Do not be deceived, God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows,

  372. that he will also reap. He who sows to

  373. the flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who

  374. sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

  375. And let us not grow weary while doing good.

  376. In due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.

  377. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good

  378. to all, especially those who are of the household of faith.

  379. In this present life,

  380. we invest our time, we invest

  381. our finances, we invest what we have in

  382. one of two ways. That's either sowing

  383. to the flesh or sowing to the Spirit.

  384. He says that as we do this,

  385. He outlined— Paul outlines here practical

  386. duties regarding

  387. Christians. And one of those is generosity.

  388. One of them is accountability. And one of them is steadfastness.

  389. He begins out by talking about, let him who is taught

  390. the Word Sure in all good things with him who teaches.

  391. That simply is telling us that as we have opportunities,

  392. we have the means to do so, let us

  393. support those that are going into the field to carry

  394. the gospel, missionaries, preachers,

  395. whoever needs support. We may not be able to do it ourselves.

  396. We may not be able to go ourselves. But let us support

  397. those that are doing that with the means that

  398. we have to do so.

  399. Also, it talks about accountability.

  400. Do not be deceived, God is not mocked. Whatever a man

  401. sows, that will he also reap. We're going to be

  402. held accountable for what we sow while we're here upon this earth.

  403. We're going to reap what we sow. If we sow the

  404. flesh, he says, you're going to reap corruption and ruin.

  405. If we sow the Spirit, we will reap eternal life.

  406. How are we sowing? So he talks about the fact that we sow and

  407. we will give accountability for that. And he

  408. goes on and talks about being steadfast, not to grow weary

  409. in well-doing, In due season we will reap if we faint not.

  410. Therefore, as we have opportunity, do good to all, especially unto the household

  411. of faith. You know, God has blessed this country

  412. in which we live, and the Scriptures

  413. does teach us that where a lot is given,

  414. a lot is required. We look at the population

  415. of the world, maybe this country has somewhere around 5 5.5%

  416. of the population of the world, but you know it has 35%

  417. or more of the financial goods of

  418. the world. God's entrusted to us as stewards a

  419. lot of goods, and he expects us to use those the

  420. very best way we can. So as we have opportunity, let us do

  421. good to all men, especially unto those of the household of faith.

  422. Let's go to 2 Timothy chapter 4, 6 through 8.

    2 Timothy 4 chapter mention

  423. Paul lived a life that as

  424. he gets ready to part this life,

  425. He lived a life where he could look back over it and he could say,

  426. yes, I fought a good fight.

  427. He looked at the present and said, I've kept the faith.

  428. He looked to the future and says that there's a crown of life

  429. laid up for me.

  430. And as he says in verse 6, I am ready,

  431. already being poured out. A drink offering.

  432. He said, the time of my departure is at hand.

  433. I fought the good fight, I have finished the race,

  434. I've kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up

  435. for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge,

  436. will give me on that day,

  437. not to me only, but also to all who has loved

  438. his appearing. Paul recognized the

  439. fact that he'd run a good race.

  440. He recognized the fact that he taught he had finished the course.

  441. He recognized the fact that he would have that

  442. crown of life. You know, we think

  443. about death, sometimes we think about it as a dark

  444. place. We think about it as departing

  445. in sadness and grief, but you know, the Christian

  446. certainly should have a different attitude toward

  447. death than what someone that doesn't have hope of life

  448. eternal has. Paul refers to death

  449. in several different ways.

  450. As he faces death, he refers

  451. to death in different kinds of terms.

  452. One time he calls it departure. He said, the time of my departure

  453. is at hand. And refers

  454. to it as to be with Christ in Philippians 1:23.

    Philippians 1:23

  455. He refers to it as to be at home with the Lord,

  456. 2 Corinthians 5:8. He also

    2 Corinthians 5:8

  457. refers to death as a gain. We don't hear that very often,

  458. do we? He referred to life— or to

  459. death as a gain over life.

  460. And it is to those that are saved.

  461. Also, he also referred to it as being far better Philippians

    Philippians 1:23

  462. 1:23. Also refers to it as

  463. falling asleep in Jesus, 1 Thessalonians 4:14.

    1 Thessalonians 4:14

  464. In other places, Scripture refers to death as precious

  465. in the sight of God, Psalms 116:15.

    Psalms 116:15

  466. Also refers to us as being carried away by the angels to Abraham's

  467. bosom. Luke 16:22, as was the

    Luke 16:22

  468. beggar. Also refers to it going to paradise,

  469. Luke 23:43. Going to the house

    Luke 23:43

  470. with many mansions, John 14:2.

    John 14:2

  471. All these things are promised. To the faithful Christian,

  472. death is not a dark place, but rather it

  473. is going to the house with many mansions.

  474. It should be a joyful release from the

  475. bonds of this world into

  476. the presence of God. So we can think— a

  477. Christian can think of death in that manner. It's a joyful

  478. release from the bonds of this world to be in the presence of God.

  479. Revelation 14, verse 13: From

  480. now on. Yea, saith the Spirit, they may rest from

  481. their labors, and their works do follow them.

  482. We also come to the resurrection.

  483. We all think about that from time to time.

  484. God has promised unto us that Jesus is

  485. the firstfruits of the resurrection. Jesus is the firstfruits,

  486. there's gonna be others. Those others are faithful Christians at

  487. the time of death or at the time the Lord comes again.

  488. Talks about this in 1 Corinthians chapter 15.

    1 Corinthians 15 chapter mention

  489. Verse 50,

  490. and this is talking about our final victory. Now this

  491. I say, brethren, flesh and blood cannot

  492. inherit the kingdom of God, nor does corruption

  493. inherit incorruption. Behold,

  494. I tell you a mystery, We shall

  495. not all sleep, but we all shall be

  496. changed, in a moment, twinkle of an eye,

  497. at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound,

  498. the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall

  499. be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption,

  500. mortal must put on immortality. And when

  501. this corruption has put on incorruption, this mortal

  502. has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying

  503. that is written, death is swallowed up in victory.

  504. O death, where is your sting? O Hades,

  505. where is your victory? The sting of death is sin,

  506. the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God,

  507. who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

  508. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast,

  509. immovable, always abounding

  510. in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is

  511. not in vain in the Lord.

  512. This is a promise that's made to us in the resurrection.

  513. This old body is sown,

  514. goes back to the earth from which it came.

  515. Spirit circles back to God who gave it.

  516. But he says, in the resurrection, this old corruptible body will

  517. be resurrected a spiritual body,

  518. incorruptible, immortal,

  519. to live forever.

  520. We can't really wrap our mind around a statement

  521. like that. It's hard for us to understand

  522. because we don't— we haven't seen it.

  523. But by faith and the promises God has made,

  524. we are fully assured that that is the

  525. way it will be in the resurrection.

  526. This corruptible body will be raised incorruptible.

  527. This mortal body will be raised immortality.

  528. And as Christ is the firstfruits of the resurrection,

  529. we know that we too will be

  530. resurrected. 1 Thessalonians,

  531. 1 Thessalonians chapter 4,

    1 Thessalonians 4 chapter mention

  532. 13. Get us some more insight into

  533. the resurrection.

  534. Here Paul writing to the Thessalonians says, I don't want you to be ignorant

  535. concerning those who have fallen asleep.

  536. Simply means, I want you to know about this.

  537. They was concerned about those of their folks

  538. that had passed on. They're concerned about the fact

  539. that maybe those that were still living when Christ returns again

  540. would hinder those that already died, already passed

  541. on. But Paul says, don't worry about this.

  542. Don't be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep.

  543. You don't need to sorrow as others who have no

  544. hope. Those that have fallen asleep simply means those that have fallen

  545. asleep in the Lord. He's talking about Christians here.

  546. Ones that falls asleep that's not in the Lord, they have no hope.

  547. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again.

  548. Even so, God will bring with him those who sleep

  549. in Jesus. You know, promises that are made

  550. are made sometimes they're conditional promises and sometimes

  551. unconditional. Those unconditional promises

  552. don't require anything of us to receive that promise.

  553. But the conditional promises requires action on our parts to

  554. receive that promise. And here that condition

  555. on our part If we're going to be resurrected like he talks

  556. about here, is to be in the Lord.

  557. Sleep in Jesus. That simply means when we die,

  558. we're in the Lord. For this we say

  559. to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain

  560. until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede

  561. those who are asleep. It's not

  562. going to be no hindrance to those that are asleep when the Lord comes again

  563. because they're going to be the first. For the Lord himself

  564. will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel,

  565. and with the trumpet of God, and the dead will rise first.

  566. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them

  567. in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

  568. Thus we shall always be with the Lord.

  569. Therefore comfort one another with these words.

  570. So we have the promises that's made concerning the resurrection.

  571. There's others. There's others. That's 2 that we looked

  572. at tonight. There's also going to be, in the few minutes

  573. we have left, there's also going to be a welcoming. Matthew 25.

  574. There's going to be a welcoming promised to those that are

  575. faithful until death or faithful through

  576. life. Matthew 25.

  577. We know this parable of the talents. Let's go for the sake of time

  578. to verse 20. It says, so he that received

  579. the 5 talents came and brought 5 other talents, saying,

  580. Lord, you delivered to me 5 talents. I've gathered 5 more talents

  581. besides them. His lord said to him, well done, good and faithful

  582. servant. You were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler

  583. over many. Enter into

  584. the joy of the Lord. And to likewise,

  585. he brought 2 more. And he said— and

  586. the lord said to him, well done, good and faithful servant.

  587. You've been faithful over a few things, I'll make you ruler over many.

  588. Enter into the joys of the Lord. The Lord has promised unto us

  589. a welcoming if we've been faithful.

  590. If we've been faithful in using our talents, doing what we should,

  591. he promised to welcome us in.

  592. And the final one, let's look at 1 Corinthians 15.

  593. 1 Corinthians 15, we'll start with verse 20.

  594. But now Christ is risen from the dead,

  595. has become the firstfruits. And we talked about, you know, Christ is the firstfruits,

  596. then there are other fruits to follow. That'll be us.

  597. Of those who have fallen asleep. For since by

  598. man came death,

  599. Also by man also came the resurrection of the dead.

  600. For as in Adam all die, talking about the

  601. physical death, because of the sin of Adam, we all die a physical death.

  602. Even so in Christ all shall be made alive.

  603. But each one in his own order.

  604. Christ the firstfruits, Afterward,

  605. those who are Christ's at his coming.

  606. Then comes the end, when he delivers

  607. the kingdom to God the Father, when he puts an end to

  608. all rule and to all authority and

  609. power. He must reign till he has put

  610. all enemies under his feet. The last enemy

  611. that shall be destroyed is death,

  612. For he has put all things under his feet.

  613. But when he says, all things are put under him, it is

  614. evident that he who puts all things

  615. under him is excepted, that is, God. Now when all things

  616. are made subject to him, then the Son himself

  617. will also be subject to him who put all things

  618. under him. That God may be all in

  619. all. Promise that made, that's the end.

  620. That's the end. Church transferred

  621. from earth to heaven. And that's the end.

  622. Y'all have any comments or anything you'd like to say?

  623. As they tell the Apostle Paul when he was speaking, if you have something to

  624. say, say on. Years ago, when I

  625. was a college student, one of my Bible teachers told us about when he

  626. was a Bible student in college. One of his teachers

  627. told him, and that was at a time when

  628. people were predicting the end of the world, somebody asked

  629. him, how come you're out looking for Jesus today?

  630. You know he's coming today. He said, no, he's not.

  631. He said he's coming at a time when we're not looking for

  632. him. Yeah, that's a good statement there.

  633. Matter of fact, the scripture teaches things are going to be going as normal,

  634. like it was in the days of Noah. We know that.

  635. Thank you.