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Resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15 (8) - The Resurrection Body · Stornoway Free Church of Scotland - Sermons

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So, we're going to begin by singing in Psalm 105, Psalm 105, verses 1 to 8. That's on page 374.
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Give thanks to God, call on His name, to men His deeds make known. Sing ye to Him, sing Psalms,
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proclaim His wondrous works each one. See that ye in His holy name to glory do accord,
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and let the heart of everyone rejoice that seeks the Lord. We're invited to seek the Lord,
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to do so with rejoicing hearts, hearts that rejoice in Him and in His salvation, and to come
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and seek in verse 4 the Lord Almighty and His strength to seek that as well, and to think
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on the works that He has done which breed admiration. So, verses 1 to 8, the tune is Denfield,
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Give thanks to God.
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Give thanks to God, call on His name, to men His deeds make known.
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Sing ye to Him, sing Psalms, proclaim His wondrous works each one.
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See that He in His holy name to glory do accord, and let the heart of everyone rejoice that seeks the Lord.
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The Lord Almighty and His strength with steadfast heart seek He.
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His blessed and His grace, His blessed and His gracious face, seek ye continually.
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Think on the works that He hath done which admiration bleed.
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Think on the works that He hath done which admiration bleed.
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His wonders and His grace, His wonders and the judgment's all, which from His path rose ye.
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O ye that God of Abram's grace, His servant will abound, and ye that Jacob's children are,
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the Lord Almighty and His glory are, whom He chose for His throne.
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Because He and He only is, the mighty God, the Lord.
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Because He and He only is, the mighty God, the Lord.
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And His most righteous judgments are, in all the earth, the Lord.
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His covenant He remembered hath, that it may ever stand.
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Two thousand generations, the word He did command.
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Amen.
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Well, let's once again call on the Lord in prayer.
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Let's join together in prayer.
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O Lord, our gracious God, it is so good for us to be taught by Your Word even as we sing.
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For You have given us in these words that we have sung so much to think upon, so much to admire, so much to take in and take stock of,
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concerning the Lord Himself and His works.
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We thank You, O Lord, at the beginning of our service this evening, that we have such great reminders extended to us in Your Word,
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and that every time we turn to Your Word, we are taught something of importance.
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And we pray that we may regard Your Word even this evening as that source of light and truth for us, that will bring to us these foundational truths that You have been pleased to reveal to us.
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We give thanks, Lord, for all that makes You worthy of our praise, for the beauty that pertains to You, for that perfection of beauty that belongs to You,
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when all Your attributes combine so completely and perfectly, so that they form that holy God whom we come to worship once again.
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And we give thanks that that continues, Lord, without any change, without any prospect of change.
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For not only is Your Word set before us the way in which these attributes belong to You, but also the way that You are unchangeably the same yesterday, today, and forever.
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And You are the God, therefore, whom we need as our foundation, one in whom we find our security, for it is in Your own perfection, in Your own unchangeable beauty and perfection, that we find the ground of our confidence.
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O Lord, help us to come before You tonight exercising that faith that believes that You are God and that You are the rewarder of those who diligently seek You.
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O Lord, we thank You that these words we have sung remind us of the importance of seeking You.
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O Lord, while we sometimes refer the seeking of our souls for God to that time in our experience, before we come to saving faith, we thank You that Your Word reminds us that the seeking of the Lord is an aspect of the faith of Your people,
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and that it is something that goes on through the whole course of life.
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O Lord, we seek You that we seek You, O Lord, this evening to come to bless us.
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O Lord, we seek You in Your power.
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O Lord, we seek You through Your grace to come to speak to us once again.
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O Lord, we seek You that we may know that we have met with You here, that we have had such a profitable time together as has come to know more of the wondrous truths of God.
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O Lord, we thank You, O Lord, that we have met with us.
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O Lord, we thank You, O Lord, for all that You continue to be for us.
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O Lord, however far back we look in history, You have been a faithful God to Your people.
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However far forward we may look in the promises of Your word, we thank You that You continue and will be a faithful God to Your people.
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O Lord, we pray, O Lord, for that sense of security for us even this evening that would come to You once again and deposit our lives into Your hand and come to trust in You and draw from You all that we require for our life ahead.
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O Lord, we thank You that You are the God who forgives sin.
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O Lord, we thank You that You are the God who forgives sin.
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And as we come with our confession of sin, as we always must, O Lord, we thank You we come to a God who has demonstrated His willingness to pardon,
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who has come to reveal Himself as the forgiver of sins in the history and experience of all who have come to know You as their God and Savior.
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O Lord, we confess tonight our sins.
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We confess that we find it at times so frustrating that we sin against You even in ways that we have sinned against You before.
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O Lord, we pray that as we contemplate these things, not only may we appreciate and give thanks for Your pardon,
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but also may we, O Lord, further our interest and further also our longing to be found at last in heaven where there is no sin,
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where we will be complete people, set in the image of God perfectly.
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O Lord God, help us as we turn our mind again this evening for a short time to the wonder, the glory, the prospect of resurrection life.
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O Lord, help us, we pray, to see ourselves in the light of it and to see the hope of Your people set in it, rooted in that resurrection of Jesus Christ,
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so that we may look forward to the resurrection of Your people.
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O Lord, we ask, O Lord, that You would give us, each of us here together tonight, that we may ourselves glory in Your resurrection
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and find ourselves amongst those whose prospect it is to share in resurrection life at last.
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May we be, O Lord, like the Apostle Paul long ago, whose desire it was to go on to know Christ and the power of His resurrection
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and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death, if by any means He might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.
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Bless us then, we pray each one.
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Bless all that took place already here today in our morning service, and our morning services indeed in Gallic as well.
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We thank You for the continuation of all our services, Lord, by Your grace.
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We pray especially for our young people who heard today of the love of God and the various aspects of that love as was brought before them.
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We thank You for them.
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We thank You for the way that they sat and listened, for the way in which they obviously showed an interest in filling their worksheets
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and coming to know more of that truth of the gospel.
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We, Lord, pray for them.
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We pray for them in this age in which they are confronted with so much that would seek to harm them physically, morally, spiritually.
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Protect them, Lord, we pray, from the clutches of the evil one, and bless all who seek to instruct them and teach them and guide them in the right way, in the way of Your truth.
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May it be so, Lord, within our families, our homes, our schools, and all the ways in which we find groups within the congregation and throughout the church,
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seeking to have the well-being of our young people catered for the church, seeking to have the well-being of our young people catered for.
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And, Lord, we pray that in our own case here in the congregation, these activities may flourish more and more.
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We thank You for the many young folks who come to the worship services as well.
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We pray that their participation in the worship services of Your church may prove to be of benefit to themselves, not only in the meantime, but as their life develops.
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And so we commend ourselves, Lord, to You now.
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And we pray as so much as taking place in our community in these days in memory of the Metagama and the Marloch and other ways by which people had to leave the island.
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We pray as we cast our minds back and as we are informed through the meetings that take place of the difficulties of those days.
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Lord, our God, make us thankful, we pray, for the relative plenty that You've given us to enjoy.
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But remind us too, O Lord, how dependent we are on Yourself.
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And as we think back on those who faced poverty and lack of work and lack of resources and lack of housing
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and had to leave this island and other places of our nation to go abroad.
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Lord, gracious Lord, make us thankful for the privileges we have.
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And bless our young people.
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And bless us, we pray, with employment and work for them as well.
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So that we may see our communities further built up.
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And that we may see further inroads into Your church as well by people who live around us and who presently don't come to the Gospel.
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Be merciful to them, we pray.
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Bless those who are in authority over us to that end as they wrestle with difficulties imposed by the conditions of our day, economic and otherwise.
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Give them wisdom, we pray.
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Grant Your blessing to those tonight we know who are struggling in these times financially.
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Lord, we ask that You would help us to take note of them, to seek to help them, to do whatever we can to alleviate them, to counsel them, to give them the help they need.
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We ask, O Lord, too, for those who tonight have other difficulties in life.
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We pray for those who are ill.
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We ask for those receiving treatment.
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Bless them and keep them through that anxious time.
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Bless those anticipating surgery.
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We pray that You would maintain them, Lord, to look to Yourself until that takes place.
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Remember, Lord, too, those who are seriously ill, any in hospice or hospital who are grievously low at this time.
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We pray again for Willie Graham, and we thank You for the measure of improvement in his condition.
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And we pray now that he is home in hospital here, that You would grant him, Lord, further progress in his health.
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We ask, too, that You would bless Mawrak and the family.
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Surround them with Your love, we pray, and continue to strengthen them all and grant to them as they would seek further improvement in Willie's condition,
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that they may look to Yourself and that they may come trustingly to draw their strength from You.
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Remember us now, then, we pray, and continue with us here with all that we seek in the pardon of our sin.
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For Jesus' sake, amen.
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We're going to sing again to God's praise this time.
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It's in Psalm 54, 54, and the Sing Psalms version on page 70.
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And singing verses 1 to 7, the whole of that psalm.
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The tune is Evan.
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Save me, O God, by Your great name, with power deliver me.
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Hear, O my God, the words I speak, and listen to my plea.
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For strangers are attacking me, the ruthless seek my life.
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For they have no regard for God, and always stir up strife.
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Words which remind us of our need to bring all our circumstances to God,
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and assures us that God gives an ear to our cry as we come believingly to Him to seek His help.
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So, Psalm 54, save me, O God, by Your great name.
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Save me, O God, by Your great name, with power deliver me.
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Hear, O my God, the words I speak, and listen to my plea.
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For strangers shall attack me, the ruthless seek my life.
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For they have no regard for God, and always stir up strife.
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Consider this God is my help, the Lord upholds my way.
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In faithfulness destroy my foes, their slander, glory pay.
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I'll bring a sacrifice to you, a free will ofening.
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Because your name, O Lord, is good.
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Your praises I will sing.
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For you, O Lord, have rescued me from my disgrace and woe.
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My eyes are blue in victory upon my cruel foe.
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O Lord, have rescued me from my life.
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Readings from God's Word this evening.
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There are two readings, firstly from the Gospel of John, chapter 5,
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and then we're coming back to read from 1 Corinthians 15.
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First of all, John, chapter 5, and reading from verse 19 to 29.
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So Jesus said to them,
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Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord,
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but only what he sees the Father doing.
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For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.
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For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing.
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And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel.
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For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life,
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so also the Son gives life to whom he will.
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The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son,
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that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father.
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Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.
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Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life.
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He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
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Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and is now here,
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when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.
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For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.
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And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of man.
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Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out,
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those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.
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And we turn also to 1 Corinthians chapter 15.
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We read a short passage there from verse 35 to verse 45.
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So 1 Corinthians 15 at verse 35.
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But someone will ask, How are the dead raised?
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With what kind of body do they come?
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You foolish person!
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What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.
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And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare seed, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain.
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But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body.
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For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind of humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish.
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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.
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There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars.
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For star differs from star in glory.
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So it is with the resurrection of the dead.
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What is sown is perishable.
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What is raised is imperishable.
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It is sown in dishonor.
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It is raised in glory.
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It is sown in weakness.
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It is raised in power.
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It is sown a natural body.
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It is raised a spiritual body.
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If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.
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Thus it is written, the first man Adam became a living being.
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The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
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May God bless to us these two portions of his word this evening.
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Before we turn back to 1 Corinthians 15, let's sing once again to God's praise in Psalm 71 on page 91.
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Psalm 71, the tune is Bunili.
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We're singing verses 14 to 21.
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But as for me, my hope is steadfast, and more and more your name I'll bless.
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I'll show your measureless salvation, and all day long your righteousness.
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I will proclaim your acts, O Lord God, and your righteousness, yes, yours alone.
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For since my youth, O God, you've taught me, and still your wonders I make known.
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Through to verse 21, from verse 14 to the tune Bunili to God's praise.
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God bless us, O Lord God.
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I will proclaim Your Son.
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But as for me, my hope is steadfast,
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I'll show you
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your salvation
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and all day long
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your righteousness.
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I will proclaim
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your acts, O Lord God,
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your righteousness,
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yes, yours alone.
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For since my youth,
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O God, you've taught me
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and still your wonders
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I may gloom.
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And now, my God,
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do not forsake me
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when old and great
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I have become
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till I declare
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your might and power
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to generations yet to come.
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Your justice reaches
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to the heavens.
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Who is like you,
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O God, in strength?
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Though you have shown me
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many troubles,
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you will restore
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my soul at land.
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From the deep places
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of air's darkness,
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you will bring up
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my life once more.
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You will increase
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your servant's honour.
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My comfort once
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again restore.
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Let's turn together
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this evening again
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to 1 Corinthians 15.
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Let's continue with
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our studies through
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this chapter.
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Tonight we're looking
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at this passage
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that we read,
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especially the early part
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of it,
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and particularly
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these words
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from verse 42
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to 44.
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So it is,
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with the resurrection
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of the dead,
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what is sown
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is perishable,
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what is raised
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is imperishable.
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It is sown
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in dishonour.
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It is raised
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in glory.
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It is sown
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in weakness.
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It is raised
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in power.
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It is sown
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a natural body.
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It is raised
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a spiritual body.
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What a difference
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it makes
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when you're looking
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forward to something
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exciting.
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What a difference
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it makes
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if you're,
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let's say,
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going to a place
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on holiday
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that you've never
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been to before.
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You've read
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up about it.
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You see all
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the different
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aspects of it
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that take your
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notice,
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whether it's
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into history
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you are,
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or whatever
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aspects of
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the world
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you're interested
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in.
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You obviously
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would have to
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try and investigate
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these.
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Places you go
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to usually
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are favourites
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for those sort
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of reasons
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that you want
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to see various
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aspects of things
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you're interested
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in.
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And as you're
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thinking forward
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with excitement
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to the eventuality,
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to the occurrence
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of happening,
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the event
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that you're
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looking forward
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to,
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it inevitably
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affects your
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thinking right
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now.
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Of course,
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you would never
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actually book
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for yourself
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a holiday
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in a place
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where you're
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going to see
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a lot of
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places,
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a lot of
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things that
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really take
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your interest
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without meantime
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making some
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preparation for it,
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without meantime
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studying up some
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more about these
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things so that
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when you get
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there,
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you're in a
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better position
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to actually
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do that.
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So,
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the prospect
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of what you're
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going to have
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in the future
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as you've
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made your
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plans and
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as you've
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made your
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bookings,
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that is
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obviously
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affecting the
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present way
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of thinking
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that you have
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in a positive
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way.
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Of course,
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it could easily
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be the other
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way about,
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that things
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in the future
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are things
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which give us
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concern,
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but let's
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keep it to the
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positive.
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That's what
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the passage
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is about,
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that positively
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affects the
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present.
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And of course,
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that's supremely
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the case with
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the Christian
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life,
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because all the
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way through
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this chapter
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we've been
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looking at
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Paul's treatment
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of the
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resurrection,
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the resurrection
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of God's
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people,
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as that's
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united to
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the resurrection
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of Jesus
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himself from
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the dead.
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Now,
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you could go
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to a place
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that you had
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really longed
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to see,
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you'd made
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all your
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preparations,
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and your
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thoughts of
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it as you
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made your
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preparations,
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were building
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up all the
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time,
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and then
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you actually
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get to it,
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and it's
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disappointing.
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It's not
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really what
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you expected.
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It's,
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you've got a
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feeling of
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just being
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let down,
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and of course
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maybe some
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of the glossy
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magazines or
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adverts are
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really overdone,
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and what you
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end up
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experiencing is
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just less
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than really you
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were hoping
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for or
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less than
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was presented
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to you.
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Well,
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of course,
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it's never
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going to be
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that way
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with your
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Christian hope.
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It's never
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going to be
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that way.
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In fact,
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it's going
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to be the
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opposite,
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because as
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we're looking
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forward to
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the resurrection,
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as God's
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people look
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forward to
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that,
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and everything
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that's on the
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other side
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of the
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resurrection,
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in the
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beauties and
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the glories
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and the
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bliss of
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heaven,
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the Bible
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tells you
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all the way
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through that
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it's going
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to be far
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better than
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you can
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even imagine
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here.
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And that's
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why we're
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saying the
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prospect of
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resurrection life,
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following the
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resurrection from
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the dead,
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is something
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that fills you
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here and ought
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to fill us,
30:44
and in many
30:45
ways I find
30:45
myself saying,
30:46
maybe you do
30:47
too,
30:47
it's surprising
30:48
how little
30:49
excitement I
30:50
sometimes feel
30:51
at the prospect
30:52
of the
30:53
resurrection that
30:54
is unto life
30:55
everlasting on
30:57
the other side
30:58
of death and
30:59
resurrection from
31:00
the dead.
31:01
Now, Paul was
31:04
excited about
31:05
thinking of
31:06
resurrection.
31:08
You'll see that
31:08
throughout his
31:09
writings, that he
31:11
wasn't just
31:12
excited about the
31:13
prospect of leaving
31:14
this world and
31:16
going to be with
31:17
Christ, which he
31:18
says is far
31:19
better, as he
31:21
wrote to the
31:21
Philippians, but
31:23
it's particularly
31:24
resurrection that
31:26
he's got his
31:26
mind set upon.
31:28
That's the
31:28
terminus.
31:29
That's the
31:30
conclusion of
31:31
the whole
31:31
thing.
31:31
That's the
31:32
thing that God
31:33
himself has in
31:34
store.
31:35
That's what the
31:35
coming of Christ
31:36
was all about.
31:37
That's what his
31:38
death and his
31:39
resurrection and
31:40
his exaltation were
31:41
designed to
31:42
actually bring about
31:43
and lead to.
31:47
And I hope we've
31:48
got something of,
31:50
even though some of
31:50
these passages are
31:51
difficult, in 1
31:52
Corinthians 15.
31:53
I hope at least one
31:56
of the outcomes is
31:57
that it's brought
31:58
us in our mind to
31:59
think of the
32:01
wonders that await
32:02
the Lord's people on
32:03
the other side of
32:04
being raised from the
32:05
dead, and of how
32:08
there is no prospect
32:09
of the kind of
32:10
limitations and
32:12
experiences of pain
32:14
and loss that we
32:16
experience in this
32:17
life.
32:17
As we turn to
32:20
this passage, we've
32:21
already seen the
32:22
hopelessness of the
32:25
person who discounts
32:26
resurrection, who
32:27
denies such a thing
32:28
as the resurrection.
32:31
Where is our hope if
32:32
we don't believe in the
32:33
resurrection of Jesus
32:34
and if we don't
32:35
believe in the
32:36
resurrection of God's
32:37
people united to
32:38
Jesus?
32:39
There is no hope.
32:40
There is no ground
32:41
of hope.
32:42
hope.
32:43
It's just gloom, the
32:46
darkness of the
32:47
grave and nothing
32:47
beyond.
32:49
And this life in
32:51
this world, as we've
32:52
seen already in this
32:54
chapter in 1
32:56
Corinthians 15, if in
32:59
this life only we
33:01
have hope in Christ,
33:03
we are of all people
33:04
most to be pitied.
33:06
Because if this world
33:07
and the borders of
33:09
this world is really
33:10
all there is to it,
33:11
what is the purpose
33:13
of human life?
33:14
Yes, we can say we
33:15
can do so much to
33:16
help each other, and
33:17
that's good.
33:18
We can do so much to
33:19
help others and make
33:20
the world a better
33:21
place.
33:21
What then?
33:23
What is the outcome
33:24
of reaching the end
33:26
stage of your life in
33:27
this world if there's
33:28
nothing beyond?
33:31
Well, the Bible, of
33:31
course, discounts that
33:33
idea and brings us
33:34
this wonderful positive
33:36
emphasis that for all
33:38
who trust in Christ,
33:39
this world is not just
33:42
that it's not the end
33:43
of things, but it's the
33:45
end of the limitations
33:46
of things that we
33:47
experience in this life.
33:49
So, tonight we're
33:49
looking at the
33:51
transformation involved
33:53
in resurrection from the
33:55
dead for the Lord's
33:57
people.
33:58
And what a
33:58
transformation it is.
34:01
Even the Apostle Paul
34:03
is struggling to find
34:05
words adequate to
34:07
describe what the
34:09
resurrection body, and
34:10
that's what he's dealing
34:11
with mainly, the
34:12
resurrection body, what
34:13
our body will be like in
34:15
the resurrection.
34:16
We know what it's like
34:17
here.
34:18
We know what we feel in
34:19
terms of bodily pains and
34:21
bodily limitations.
34:23
We know what it's like
34:24
that aspects of our
34:25
physical makeup actually
34:28
themselves are so united
34:30
to our sinfulness and to
34:32
our being sinful people and
34:34
practicing sin.
34:35
And the Apostle is
34:36
excited at the prospect
34:38
that the body that will
34:39
be raised from the dead
34:41
is done with sin, and
34:43
it's done with these
34:44
limitations, and it's
34:46
done with the kind of
34:47
things you have here in
34:49
humiliation and in these
34:51
frustrations of not being
34:53
able to glorify God a
34:57
hundred percent as you'd
34:58
like to.
34:59
Let's look at what he's
35:00
saying.
35:02
First of all, I want to
35:03
take what really is a key
35:04
phrase from the passage,
35:06
and that's what you find
35:07
in verses 38 to 41.
35:10
And the key phrase
35:11
especially is where he
35:14
talks here about God
35:16
gives it a body in verse
35:19
38, but God gives it a
35:21
body as he has chosen.
35:23
These are really
35:24
significant words at the
35:25
heart of the passage.
35:26
Indeed, some are of the
35:28
view that that's really the
35:30
heart of the chapter.
35:31
God gives it a body.
35:33
It's not just that there's
35:34
such a thing as a
35:35
resurrection and a body
35:37
that comes out of the
35:38
grave as a resurrected
35:39
body, as the risen body
35:41
that's united then to the
35:43
soul.
35:44
In the case of the saved,
35:46
Paul is saying, God gives
35:49
it a body.
35:50
It is he who is in charge of
35:52
what comes up from the
35:54
dead.
35:55
And it's interesting how he
35:57
illustrates this because,
35:58
well, he begins by actually
36:02
picking up a couple of
36:04
skeptical objections, it
36:05
seems, if you might call it
36:07
that, in verses 35 and 36.
36:10
But someone will ask, how
36:12
are the dead raised?
36:13
With what kind of body do
36:15
they come?
36:16
And you can tell that Paul is
36:18
somewhat annoyed with that
36:19
because he answers that,
36:21
first of all, by saying, you
36:22
foolish person.
36:24
And he goes on to explain why
36:26
he is so vehement in such
36:28
language, you foolish
36:29
person.
36:30
It's as if he's dealt with
36:32
all that the chapter has
36:34
contained so far.
36:36
There were some in Corinth
36:37
who didn't believe in the
36:38
resurrection of the dead.
36:40
And we've seen how Paul has
36:42
dealt with that.
36:44
But there may well have been
36:45
some people who still, as
36:46
far as Paul was concerned,
36:47
were still skeptical, still
36:49
really not taking this in,
36:51
that there is such a thing
36:53
awaiting God's people as
36:54
the resurrection from the
36:55
dead.
36:55
So he's saying, someone will
36:56
ask, well, how are the dead
36:58
raised then?
36:58
As if he's saying, well, if
37:00
you believe in the
37:00
resurrection, tell me how
37:02
they are raised.
37:03
Or what kind of body will
37:05
they have when they are
37:07
raised?
37:08
And Paul's reaction is,
37:10
you foolish person.
37:12
That's very strong language
37:13
because what Paul is
37:15
concerned for is that they
37:16
haven't really exercised their
37:18
minds to follow what he's
37:19
saying even so far.
37:21
So he's now adding to it.
37:22
And he uses an analogy.
37:24
He uses the illustration of
37:27
what happens to a seed when
37:30
you place it in the ground
37:31
and the contrast between the
37:34
seed that you place in the
37:35
ground, whatever it might be,
37:37
and the plant that grows from
37:39
that when it reaches its
37:41
fullness.
37:42
That's the contrast that he's
37:44
drawing and he's using that to
37:46
illustrate why these people that
37:48
are raising these questions
37:50
really are foolish.
37:51
They're not really thinking
37:52
things through properly.
37:53
And of course, one of the
37:54
great important things for you
37:56
as a Christian, for us as
37:57
Christians, is to use your
37:58
mind.
37:59
Use the mind, as Paul says so
38:01
often, to consider God's truth.
38:05
Apply your mind to it.
38:07
And this is what he's saying.
38:09
You foolish person, what you sow
38:14
does not come to life unless it
38:16
dies.
38:17
And what you sow is not the body
38:19
that is to be, but a bare seed,
38:21
perhaps of wheat or of some other
38:23
grain.
38:24
Now, you see what he's saying?
38:25
That you actually place the seed in
38:27
the ground, wheat, whatever it
38:29
might be.
38:30
And then what comes up from it, in a
38:32
sense, of course it's still attached
38:35
to the seed, but it's not exactly the
38:37
seed that you planted in the ground,
38:39
although it is in essence the same
38:42
plant.
38:45
And what he's really concerned for is
38:47
that the Corinthians will understand
38:50
that there's a process that needs to
38:52
be gone through.
38:54
Because the final plant requires the
38:57
death of the seed before it actually
39:01
comes to its full fruition.
39:03
The seed dies.
39:05
You look at a potato.
39:07
Some of you might have planted
39:08
potatoes already.
39:10
If you plant potatoes, and you know
39:11
very well when you come to find the
39:13
potato plant growing, yes, it produces
39:16
all these other potatoes underneath,
39:18
you hope.
39:19
The plant grows.
39:20
The leaves are there.
39:20
Everything comes out of the ground.
39:22
You go to the original potato.
39:25
You can't use it again.
39:27
It's rotten.
39:28
It's disintegrated.
39:29
It's given its life to the plant that
39:33
grew from it.
39:35
And it's that principle that Paul is
39:37
applying here when he says,
39:39
that which dies is placed in the
39:42
ground, and out of it grows the plant
39:45
from that seed.
39:48
And the process is death first, then
39:51
comes life from that.
39:53
Now, Jesus used this very interestingly,
39:56
used the same principle, same
39:58
illustration in John chapter 12.
40:00
If you turn to that for a moment
40:01
with me, please, there's a few
40:03
verses there we can see are important.
40:06
John 12, verse 24.
40:11
This is Jesus applying this principle
40:14
to himself.
40:15
I'm not going to spend much time on this,
40:17
but just to illustrate how Jesus himself
40:19
used this same principle as well.
40:22
Here are, from verse 20, people who are
40:24
coming up and seeking to see Jesus.
40:27
Philip and Andrew are involved.
40:29
And this is Jesus answering.
40:30
He says,
40:30
The hour has come for the Son of Man,
40:33
that's himself, to be glorified.
40:34
Truly, truly, I say to you,
40:36
unless a grain of wheat falls into the
40:38
earth and dies, it remains alone.
40:43
But if it dies, it bears much fruit.
40:48
He's talking there of himself, firstly.
40:50
And as far as I'm aware,
40:52
it's true that in the tombs of Egypt,
40:56
grains were found that were buried
40:58
with some of the kings or important people
41:01
that were buried in these large tombs
41:05
or found in clay vessels,
41:09
still intact,
41:11
but still just as seed
41:13
as they had been placed
41:14
in the earthenware jar or whatever.
41:17
But I believe it's true that when
41:20
some of them were placed
41:22
in the earth,
41:23
they actually grew.
41:24
They still had life in them.
41:26
The point is this.
41:28
Unless the seed dies,
41:30
it remains, Jesus is saying,
41:32
on its own.
41:33
And he is saying that
41:34
about his own death.
41:37
Unless he dies,
41:39
there is no fruit
41:40
from him,
41:42
from his life,
41:43
without him first dying
41:45
and then rising from the dead.
41:46
But he doesn't leave it at that.
41:48
He says then
41:49
that whoever loves his life
41:54
loses it,
41:55
and whoever hates his life
41:57
in this world
41:58
will keep it for eternal life.
42:01
If anyone serves me,
42:02
he must follow me,
42:04
and where I am,
42:05
there will my servant be also.
42:07
If anyone serves me,
42:09
the Father will honor him.
42:10
Now, see what he's saying there.
42:12
He's saying about himself,
42:13
it must be the case
42:14
that there will be death
42:16
in my experience,
42:17
in my case,
42:19
for there to be life
42:20
as the outcome.
42:21
The Son of Man
42:22
must die
42:23
just as the seed
42:24
goes into the ground.
42:26
But he applies that then
42:28
to our lives
42:29
as human beings.
42:30
There must be
42:31
a dying
42:32
or a death
42:33
in our life.
42:33
And this is not just
42:34
in terms of
42:35
when our body
42:36
is laid into the tomb.
42:38
That's not what he's
42:38
dealing with there.
42:39
It's a matter of you
42:40
dying to yourself,
42:42
dying to your self-righteousness,
42:44
dying to your own
42:46
preferences,
42:47
as it were,
42:48
dying to everything
42:49
that's a contrast to
42:50
or an opposition
42:51
to placing your life
42:53
in the hands of God.
42:55
Whoever
42:56
keeps his life
42:57
shall lose it.
42:58
You hang on to it.
42:59
It's like the seed
43:00
that's never been planted.
43:02
It doesn't grow.
43:03
It doesn't produce the fruit.
43:05
But if it dies,
43:07
if you die to yourself,
43:08
remember that's what
43:10
you're doing,
43:10
when you give your life
43:12
over to Christ,
43:13
when you come to trust
43:14
in Him by God's grace,
43:16
what you're doing
43:17
is really handing over
43:18
your life
43:19
for Him to look after it,
43:22
for Him to keep it
43:24
in security,
43:26
for Him to bring
43:27
ultimately
43:27
that fruit of righteousness
43:29
into your life.
43:32
There has to be
43:33
a dying to self,
43:35
and he said that elsewhere,
43:36
didn't he,
43:36
in the other gospel,
43:38
speaking about
43:39
what it is
43:40
to be his disciple.
43:41
If any man would follow me,
43:43
let him take up his cross,
43:45
deny himself,
43:46
and follow me.
43:48
He always mentioned this,
43:49
deny himself,
43:50
die to yourself,
43:53
and die to the life
43:55
of sin's dominance.
43:57
So important,
44:00
isn't it?
44:01
We can't expect
44:02
to live spiritually
44:04
without dying to self.
44:06
I said I wasn't going to spend
44:07
too much time on it,
44:08
but it is an important point.
44:10
I want you to take that
44:10
with you
44:11
and just ponder it.
44:12
Have you died to self?
44:14
Have you given your life
44:15
over to Christ?
44:16
You see,
44:16
your life is either
44:17
in the hands of Christ
44:18
or it's in your own hands.
44:20
Your life is either
44:21
being looked after by Him
44:22
or you're trying
44:23
to manage it yourself.
44:24
And when you come to die,
44:27
you're either going to die
44:28
in the hands of Christ
44:29
or you're going to die,
44:30
sadly,
44:31
trying still to look after it
44:32
without any prospect
44:33
of resurrection unto life.
44:39
And so,
44:39
coming back to
44:40
1 Corinthians 15,
44:42
here is what he's saying
44:43
regarding the same principle.
44:47
What you sow
44:47
does not come to life
44:49
unless it dies.
44:50
And what you sow
44:51
is not the body
44:51
that is to be,
44:52
but God gives it a body
44:54
as He has chosen.
44:55
Now,
44:55
He extends that
44:56
to really pretty much
44:58
to the whole creation.
44:59
He talks about animals,
45:01
birds,
45:01
fish,
45:02
and what He's really
45:02
demonstrating is that
45:03
God gives them
45:04
their own body.
45:06
God gives them,
45:07
each of them,
45:08
the body
45:08
that He has designed
45:09
for them.
45:11
And He goes through
45:12
to say,
45:13
in the creation,
45:14
there are heavenly bodies
45:15
and there are earthly bodies.
45:17
There's the sun
45:18
and the moon
45:19
and the stars.
45:21
They all have
45:21
their own different bodies,
45:23
their own shape,
45:24
their own properties,
45:26
and their own glory.
45:29
And so it is,
45:30
He says,
45:30
with the resurrection
45:31
of the dead.
45:33
He's answering these objections,
45:35
these questions.
45:37
But the point is this,
45:38
if God,
45:40
as He is,
45:41
is giving their own body
45:42
to these objects,
45:44
to these planets,
45:45
to these stars,
45:46
to these creatures
45:47
in His creation,
45:50
if God is giving them
45:52
a body as He has designed,
45:55
He is the one
45:56
who is going to give
45:58
His people the body
45:59
in the resurrection.
46:02
If God has done
46:03
what He's done already,
46:05
Paul is really saying,
46:05
you can put it into words
46:06
like this or similar,
46:08
if you think of God
46:09
having done this already,
46:12
why should you doubt
46:13
that God will give
46:15
a body
46:15
to those
46:17
who died
46:17
and His bodies
46:18
initially were laid
46:20
into the dust
46:21
and death
46:21
because He will give it
46:24
a body
46:25
in the resurrection.
46:27
And that brings us
46:28
to the second part.
46:30
What kind
46:30
of body
46:31
will they be?
46:33
Well,
46:33
it's from
46:34
the natural,
46:35
He says,
46:35
to the spiritual.
46:38
Let's read from
46:38
verse 42.
46:40
So it is
46:41
with the resurrection
46:42
of the dead.
46:44
What is sown
46:44
is perishable.
46:46
What is raised
46:47
is imperishable.
46:48
It is sown
46:49
in dishonor.
46:49
It is raised
46:50
in glory.
46:51
It is sown
46:51
in weakness.
46:53
It is raised
46:53
in power.
46:54
It is sown
46:55
a natural body.
46:57
It is raised
46:57
a spiritual body.
47:01
So,
47:01
in a sense,
47:02
you have the same
47:03
as you have
47:03
with the seed.
47:04
There's discontinuity.
47:07
It's not the seed
47:08
that rises.
47:08
And yet,
47:10
there's continuity
47:11
because what rises
47:12
is from the seed
47:14
that was planted.
47:15
Let me read to you
47:15
what Confession of Faith,
47:17
the Westminster
47:18
Confession of Faith,
47:19
and how it puts it
47:20
in chapter 32,
47:22
paragraph 2.
47:23
This is dealing
47:24
with the resurrection.
47:26
At the last day,
47:28
such as are found alive
47:30
shall not die,
47:31
but be changed.
47:32
He's talking here
47:33
about Christians,
47:33
the people of God.
47:35
Such as are found alive
47:37
shall not die,
47:37
but be changed.
47:39
And all the dead
47:40
shall be raised up
47:41
with the self-same bodies.
47:46
Now,
47:46
isn't that interesting?
47:48
With the self-same bodies,
47:51
the bodies that were laid
47:52
into the grave,
47:54
into the tomb.
47:55
In other words,
47:55
it will be your body
47:57
and my body
47:58
that comes out
47:59
in the resurrection.
48:00
It won't be a body
48:01
different in essence
48:04
to the body
48:04
that you had.
48:05
Let's continue
48:06
with the confession.
48:07
With the self-same bodies
48:09
and none other,
48:11
although with different qualities.
48:16
Although with different qualities.
48:21
And that's what he says here,
48:22
Paul is saying,
48:23
in verses 42 to 44.
48:25
The same body
48:27
as was placed in the grave,
48:30
it is sown a natural body.
48:33
It is raised a spiritual body.
48:35
The same body in that sense.
48:37
But what is sown
48:39
is perishable.
48:41
What is raised
48:41
is imperishable.
48:43
Your body,
48:44
my body,
48:45
that's what comes forth
48:47
from the grave,
48:48
but it comes forth
48:50
imperishable
48:51
and in power
48:52
and honor
48:53
and glory.
48:55
And if we look
48:56
at these briefly,
48:57
we can follow through
48:58
in what he's saying there.
48:59
So they're different.
49:00
Not the same in substance,
49:02
but they're different.
49:03
It's very difficult
49:04
for us to find
49:05
adequate words.
49:06
I mean,
49:06
I can't possibly
49:07
find adequate words.
49:08
The apostle was struggling,
49:09
so who am I
49:09
to try and put them
49:11
into English?
49:12
But this is what he's saying.
49:13
Let me see
49:13
if I can put it this way.
49:14
He deals with
49:15
four contrasts
49:18
to set out
49:19
this indescribably
49:21
great change
49:22
that comes about,
49:24
a change
49:24
from what was
49:25
put in the ground
49:26
to what you see
49:28
coming forth.
49:30
Same body
49:31
in substance,
49:32
but very different
49:34
in qualities.
49:35
That's how the
49:36
confession puts it.
49:37
And he gives it that here.
49:39
He's putting that here.
49:40
Paul is saying,
49:41
it is,
49:41
what is sown
49:42
is perishable,
49:44
what is raised
49:44
is imperishable.
49:48
Perishable,
49:48
of course,
49:49
means subject
49:50
to decay,
49:52
subject to
49:52
dissolution.
49:54
Our bodies return
49:55
to the dust.
49:58
We have to
49:58
contemplate that.
50:00
That's something
50:01
that has come about
50:02
by,
50:04
in God's response,
50:06
if you like,
50:07
to our sin
50:08
against him.
50:11
As he said to Adam,
50:12
from dust
50:13
you were made,
50:15
and to dust
50:16
you shall return.
50:17
It was part of
50:18
what God
50:19
brought upon
50:20
human life
50:21
as his response
50:24
to our sin
50:25
against him.
50:26
Never mind,
50:27
this is what he's saying.
50:28
It is sown,
50:29
what is sown
50:29
is perishable,
50:31
what is raised
50:32
is imperishable.
50:34
Now again,
50:34
I'm not going to spend
50:35
time with each of those.
50:36
Let's take them together.
50:38
Perishable,
50:39
subject to decay.
50:40
That's what
50:41
your body is
50:42
when it goes back.
50:43
When it's buried
50:45
in the grave,
50:45
it's subject to decay.
50:47
It's a very solemn point.
50:51
Something that we find
50:52
difficult to comprehend,
50:54
even to accept,
50:55
that that's what's
50:56
going to happen to us.
50:58
But that's what it is.
51:00
But it's raised
51:02
imperishable.
51:04
What is raised
51:05
is imperishable.
51:07
And it's not just
51:07
the opposite
51:08
of what is perishable,
51:10
it's the actual
51:11
reverse of what's
51:13
perishable.
51:13
because what's perishable
51:15
was always leading
51:16
towards that end.
51:17
All the way through
51:18
from the time
51:19
you were born,
51:20
you were going through
51:21
the process of dying.
51:24
But what is raised
51:25
is imperishable.
51:27
There is no such process
51:29
with regard to
51:30
the resurrection body.
51:31
It remains
51:32
imperishable.
51:35
Never again
51:35
will there be something
51:36
to enter into it
51:37
as a process of decay,
51:39
a process of decomposition.
51:41
It will in fact,
51:42
in other words,
51:44
have fullness
51:45
of life
51:47
associated with it.
51:50
We're going to be raised
51:51
to a fullness of life.
51:55
A life,
51:56
we may say,
51:57
with which your present body
51:59
just couldn't cope
52:00
because the body
52:03
presently
52:03
is still affected by sin,
52:05
even the body
52:06
of the saved people
52:07
of God.
52:08
And when you see
52:09
in the Bible
52:09
briefly,
52:12
dimly,
52:13
how coming into
52:14
the presence of God
52:16
or into the glory
52:17
of Christ,
52:17
such as Paul saw
52:18
on the way to Damascus,
52:20
his body couldn't cope
52:21
with it.
52:22
He immediately fell
52:22
to the ground.
52:23
He was struck
52:23
with blindness.
52:26
And what Paul is saying
52:27
is,
52:27
God will give us
52:30
a body,
52:31
all God's people
52:32
will be given a body
52:33
that we'll be able
52:34
to cope with,
52:35
we'll be able
52:36
to manage,
52:37
we'll be able
52:37
to actually
52:39
have this
52:40
everlasting life
52:42
without it having
52:43
a destructive effect
52:44
on you.
52:48
It's the reversal
52:49
of death.
52:51
It's fullness
52:52
of life.
52:52
There's these beautiful
52:53
words in the psalm,
52:54
isn't there,
52:54
in Psalm 16,
52:56
words that were
52:58
applied to Jesus
52:59
himself,
52:59
of course,
53:01
that he would not
53:02
see corruption.
53:04
In your presence
53:05
there is
53:06
fullness
53:07
of joy.
53:10
Fullness
53:11
of joy.
53:13
Raised up to
53:14
fullness
53:15
of life.
53:17
So it's
53:18
imperishable.
53:19
It is sown
53:19
in dishonor,
53:21
it is raised
53:22
in glory.
53:22
Because
53:23
what is
53:24
presently
53:25
the case
53:25
even with
53:26
our Christian
53:26
life,
53:27
with our
53:28
Christian
53:28
bodies,
53:29
they're still
53:30
attached to sin
53:31
and our sinning,
53:32
aren't they?
53:33
When you put
53:34
our bodies
53:37
in a coffin
53:38
and they're
53:40
then laid
53:41
into the
53:42
dust,
53:43
you still
53:45
associate that
53:46
body with
53:46
dishonor,
53:48
in the sense
53:49
that it's
53:49
humiliation
53:50
for us even
53:51
to come
53:51
to be
53:53
returning
53:54
to dust.
53:56
It's
53:56
something that
53:57
really,
53:59
again,
54:00
brings to us
54:00
the fact,
54:01
the reality
54:01
of sin,
54:02
the reality
54:03
of death
54:03
as the
54:04
wages of
54:04
sin.
54:07
It is
54:07
sown
54:07
in dishonor.
54:10
Sinful
54:11
desires
54:11
right up to
54:12
the very
54:13
moment,
54:13
perhaps,
54:14
when we die,
54:15
are still
54:16
attached to
54:17
this bodily
54:18
existence.
54:19
But it
54:20
is raised
54:21
in glory.
54:25
It is
54:26
raised
54:26
in glory.
54:29
There will
54:29
be no
54:30
sinful
54:31
thoughts,
54:32
no incapacity
54:33
as far as
54:34
glorifying God
54:35
is concerned.
54:37
Do you
54:38
not long
54:38
for that?
54:41
Do you
54:41
not long
54:42
to have
54:42
a body
54:44
where your
54:44
eyes,
54:45
where what
54:45
you see,
54:46
what you
54:46
hear,
54:46
where your
54:47
mouth,
54:48
where your
54:48
tongue,
54:49
where your
54:49
speech is
54:51
not so
54:51
attached to
54:52
sin and
54:53
dishonoring God
54:54
as it
54:54
presently is?
54:56
Do you
54:57
not long
54:57
to have
54:58
a body
54:58
that's no
54:59
longer a
55:00
body of
55:01
humiliation
55:01
or a
55:02
body that's
55:03
got dishonorableness
55:04
attached to
55:05
it due to
55:05
sin?
55:07
Do you
55:07
not long
55:07
to have
55:08
that body
55:09
where all
55:10
your physical
55:11
dimensions and
55:12
your physical
55:13
abilities and
55:14
capabilities are
55:15
all perfectly
55:16
aligned with
55:17
the glory
55:18
of God,
55:19
with the
55:19
praise of
55:19
God?
55:21
That's what
55:21
Paul is
55:21
saying.
55:22
It is
55:23
sown in
55:23
dishonor,
55:24
it is
55:24
raised in
55:26
glory.
55:27
It is
55:28
raised in
55:29
such a
55:29
way that
55:30
no longer
55:31
is there
55:31
any further
55:32
attachment in
55:33
any way to
55:34
sin.
55:35
And it is
55:35
sown in
55:35
weakness,
55:36
it is
55:36
raised in
55:38
power.
55:40
The
55:40
incapacity
55:41
and lack
55:43
of capability
55:44
that we find
55:44
now is
55:45
gone.
55:46
You know,
55:47
it is
55:47
exciting when
55:48
you think
55:48
of the
55:49
body with
55:50
which Jesus
55:50
was raised
55:52
from the
55:52
dead,
55:52
or the
55:53
body of
55:53
Jesus raised
55:54
from the
55:54
dead.
55:56
That is
55:57
the pattern
55:57
for the
55:59
body of
55:59
Christians raised
56:00
from the
56:00
dead.
56:02
And you
56:04
can see in
56:04
the Gospels
56:05
what that
56:07
was capable
56:08
of.
56:10
Jesus
56:10
actually
56:11
traveled
56:11
through
56:13
solid
56:13
walls.
56:16
He
56:17
manifested
56:17
himself
56:18
in the
56:18
middle
56:18
of
56:19
his
56:19
group
56:19
of
56:19
disciples
56:20
and the
56:21
doors
56:21
were
56:21
locked.
56:22
Why does
56:23
it say
56:23
the doors
56:24
were
56:25
locked?
56:26
Well,
56:26
so that we
56:26
can actually
56:27
conclude that
56:28
Jesus'
56:29
entrance must
56:29
have been by
56:30
some other
56:30
way.
56:31
And it
56:32
wasn't just
56:32
a spiritual
56:33
entrance as
56:34
if they were
56:35
seeing a
56:35
ghost.
56:36
He was
56:36
there bodily.
56:37
He invited
56:39
people to
56:39
touch Him.
56:42
How did
56:42
He come
56:43
bodily into
56:44
the presence
56:45
of that
56:45
gathered group
56:46
of disciples?
56:47
Well,
56:48
we can't
56:48
say absolutely
56:49
for sure
56:50
the spiritual
56:51
mechanics of
56:52
it, if you
56:53
like, but
56:54
His body
56:54
had properties
56:55
different to
56:56
or above
56:57
the properties
56:58
He had before
56:59
His death.
57:01
He came in
57:02
His resurrected
57:02
body.
57:04
That's the
57:05
pattern for
57:05
our own.
57:07
It's sown
57:09
in weakness.
57:11
It's raised
57:12
in power.
57:15
Can you
57:15
put a
57:16
measure
57:16
on what
57:20
our resurrected
57:21
bodies will
57:22
be capable
57:22
of?
57:25
I can't.
57:27
But it's
57:27
exciting to
57:28
think of
57:29
how our
57:30
physical,
57:31
the physical
57:32
aspect of
57:33
our bodies,
57:35
how the
57:35
physical aspect
57:36
of our being
57:36
will no longer
57:38
be as limited
57:39
as it is.
57:40
It will not
57:40
be divine.
57:41
It will not
57:41
be all
57:42
powerful,
57:43
but it will
57:44
be capable
57:45
of so,
57:46
so much
57:47
more,
57:48
perhaps even
57:49
in terms of
57:50
travel,
57:50
who knows?
57:52
But it's
57:53
certainly going
57:53
to be way
57:54
above our
57:56
capacity in
57:57
this life,
57:58
in our bodily
57:59
existence now.
58:01
It is sown
58:02
in weakness.
58:02
it is raised
58:04
in power.
58:06
You know,
58:07
when you
58:07
place a
58:08
coffin into
58:09
the grave.
58:11
Let me
58:12
say it's
58:12
something that's
58:15
important to
58:16
see.
58:17
I know some
58:17
people find
58:19
it difficult
58:19
to be there
58:20
at a graveside.
58:22
Of course,
58:23
it was the
58:23
practice that
58:24
women didn't
58:25
go to the
58:26
graveside long
58:26
ago or in
58:27
more recent
58:27
times.
58:28
But now
58:29
that's, I
58:29
think, a
58:30
good thing
58:30
that is no
58:31
longer the
58:32
case.
58:32
Everybody's
58:33
got their
58:33
own personal
58:33
opinion and
58:34
not interfering
58:35
with that.
58:36
But seeing a
58:37
coffin going
58:38
into the
58:38
grave, coming
58:39
to just show
58:40
the very last
58:42
respects by
58:43
scattering sand
58:44
or earth into
58:44
it, and the
58:45
grave being
58:46
filled in,
58:47
that has its
58:47
own point to
58:48
make.
58:50
That has its
58:51
own solemnity.
58:53
That has its
58:54
own level of
58:54
teaching.
58:56
And indeed,
58:57
that has its
58:57
own level of
58:58
finality as
59:00
well for this
59:00
life as we
59:02
say goodbye to
59:03
those we
59:03
love.
59:06
It is
59:07
sown in
59:09
weakness.
59:09
But as you
59:09
put that
59:10
coffin into
59:11
the dust,
59:12
as the
59:13
grave is
59:13
filled in,
59:15
one thing
59:15
you're absolutely
59:16
sure of when
59:17
you leave that
59:18
spot, that
59:20
coffin and
59:20
that body
59:21
inside is
59:22
not going
59:22
to move
59:23
until God
59:25
raises it
59:25
from the
59:26
dead.
59:26
It is
59:27
sown in
59:28
weakness.
59:29
weakness.
59:30
But it is
59:31
raised in
59:32
power.
59:34
And it is
59:34
raised in
59:35
power in
59:36
such a way
59:36
that we
59:37
find it
59:38
difficult even
59:38
now even to
59:39
estimate what
59:40
it would be
59:40
like.
59:41
But that's
59:42
what we're
59:42
told.
59:43
The opposite
59:44
of what's put
59:44
in the
59:44
ground is
59:46
what comes
59:46
out in the
59:47
resurrection.
59:49
And it
59:50
is sown a
59:52
natural body.
59:53
It is
59:54
raised a
59:54
spiritual body.
59:55
Now, it
59:56
doesn't mean
59:56
by that that
59:57
the body
59:58
that's raised,
59:59
the resurrection
1:00:00
body of
1:00:00
God's people,
1:00:01
has no
1:00:02
physical dimensions,
1:00:03
that it will
1:00:04
no longer have
1:00:04
flesh and
1:00:06
bones and
1:00:06
the substance
1:00:07
of our bodies
1:00:08
as we now
1:00:09
know it.
1:00:09
That's not
1:00:09
what's meant
1:00:10
by having a
1:00:11
spiritual body.
1:00:12
He says there
1:00:12
is a natural
1:00:13
body, there
1:00:14
is a spiritual
1:00:15
body.
1:00:15
It is sown a
1:00:16
natural body,
1:00:17
raised a
1:00:18
spiritual body.
1:00:19
What he means
1:00:19
by that, I
1:00:19
think, is it
1:00:21
is sown as
1:00:22
the body that
1:00:22
belongs to
1:00:23
this life,
1:00:25
the body that
1:00:25
belongs to
1:00:26
our existence
1:00:26
now, this
1:00:27
side of the
1:00:28
grave.
1:00:29
It is raised
1:00:30
a spiritual
1:00:30
body.
1:00:32
In other
1:00:32
words, Paul's
1:00:33
use of the
1:00:34
word spiritual
1:00:34
usually means,
1:00:35
and I think
1:00:35
means the
1:00:36
same here,
1:00:37
it is raised
1:00:38
in the energy
1:00:40
of and in the
1:00:40
dynamic of
1:00:41
the Holy
1:00:42
Spirit.
1:00:44
Because these
1:00:45
will be
1:00:46
bodies that
1:00:48
will be able,
1:00:50
through the
1:00:51
power of God,
1:00:52
the power that
1:00:52
God gives
1:00:53
them, will
1:00:54
be able to
1:00:55
have the
1:00:56
Holy Spirit's
1:00:57
residence to
1:00:59
the fullness
1:00:59
that God
1:01:00
will himself
1:01:01
bring about.
1:01:03
So you see,
1:01:04
it all comes
1:01:04
together,
1:01:06
imperishable,
1:01:07
glory,
1:01:08
power,
1:01:10
spiritual,
1:01:11
lived fully in
1:01:12
the dynamic of
1:01:13
the Holy Spirit,
1:01:15
which is not
1:01:16
what we are
1:01:17
capable of here
1:01:18
now in our
1:01:19
existence.
1:01:20
presence.
1:01:22
And of course,
1:01:22
we need to
1:01:23
retain this in
1:01:24
our mind too,
1:01:25
that Paul is
1:01:26
dealing here with
1:01:27
the resurrection
1:01:28
body, but you
1:01:30
mustn't think that
1:01:31
eternal life is
1:01:31
just a body
1:01:33
with some
1:01:34
spiritual life to
1:01:35
it.
1:01:36
What he's talking
1:01:37
of here is
1:01:37
God's saved
1:01:39
people,
1:01:41
coming as they
1:01:42
now exist in
1:01:43
heaven, in their
1:01:44
souls, coming to
1:01:46
be reunited with
1:01:47
their bodies as
1:01:48
they are raised,
1:01:48
the bodies are
1:01:49
raised from the
1:01:50
ground to meet
1:01:52
the soul and to
1:01:52
be combined with
1:01:53
the soul.
1:01:53
The whole entire
1:01:55
person is
1:01:55
redeemed and the
1:01:57
redemption of the
1:01:58
body that Paul
1:01:59
finds so important
1:02:00
is concluded at
1:02:02
the resurrection
1:02:03
from the dead.
1:02:05
Well, what
1:02:08
changes?
1:02:12
What prospects
1:02:13
we have?
1:02:16
What encouragement
1:02:17
we have?
1:02:20
What an incentive
1:02:21
really to be, as
1:02:24
Paul put it, as
1:02:25
he wrote to the
1:02:26
Philippians in his
1:02:27
great testimony in
1:02:28
Philippians 3.
1:02:31
Our encouragement,
1:02:32
our incentive,
1:02:34
our prospects.
1:02:38
How did he put it?
1:02:39
Well, he says,
1:02:39
I have suffered
1:02:41
the loss of all
1:02:43
things.
1:02:45
I count everything
1:02:46
as loss because
1:02:47
of the surpassing
1:02:48
worth of knowing
1:02:49
Christ Jesus my
1:02:50
Lord.
1:02:52
And for his sake,
1:02:53
I have suffered
1:02:55
the loss of all
1:02:55
things and count
1:02:56
them but rubbish
1:02:57
in order that I
1:02:58
may gain Christ
1:02:59
and be found in
1:03:00
him, not having
1:03:01
a righteousness of
1:03:02
my own that comes
1:03:03
from the law,
1:03:05
but that which
1:03:05
comes through the
1:03:06
faith of Christ,
1:03:07
the righteousness
1:03:08
of God that
1:03:09
depends on faith,
1:03:10
that I may know.
1:03:11
Why is he saying
1:03:13
I've put everything
1:03:13
that I once used
1:03:14
to trust in behind
1:03:15
me?
1:03:16
Why do I think
1:03:17
that now is
1:03:17
worthless, he's
1:03:18
saying, as far as
1:03:19
my relationship
1:03:20
with God is
1:03:21
concerned?
1:03:21
Because, he says,
1:03:22
I want to know
1:03:24
him.
1:03:25
God has delivered
1:03:26
me from myself
1:03:27
so that I may
1:03:28
know him.
1:03:30
And the power
1:03:31
of his resurrection
1:03:33
and the fellowship
1:03:34
of his sufferings,
1:03:36
becoming like him
1:03:37
in his death,
1:03:37
that by any means
1:03:38
possible, I may
1:03:40
attain the
1:03:42
resurrection from
1:03:43
the dead.
1:03:46
Well, what a
1:03:47
prospect.
1:03:50
Is that what
1:03:51
you're living for?
1:03:54
Is that your
1:03:55
prospect?
1:03:59
Is that your
1:04:00
hope?
1:04:00
hope?
1:04:02
When you come to
1:04:03
die, will it be in
1:04:06
the expectancy of
1:04:08
being raised
1:04:09
imperishable, in
1:04:11
glory, in power,
1:04:13
in the energy of the
1:04:15
Holy Spirit?
1:04:18
Or will it be, as
1:04:19
Jesus said, as we read
1:04:21
in John's Gospel,
1:04:23
raised to condemnation,
1:04:27
to the darkness of
1:04:32
hell forever?
1:04:35
Because that's the
1:04:36
alternative of all
1:04:38
that we've looked at
1:04:39
this evening.
1:04:41
Everybody is going to
1:04:42
be raised, but not
1:04:45
everybody is going to
1:04:46
be raised to eternal
1:04:48
life.
1:04:48
life.
1:04:50
But let's finish on the
1:04:51
positive.
1:04:53
Make sure that you're
1:04:54
found in Christ.
1:04:57
Make sure that being
1:04:58
found in Christ, your
1:04:59
hope, is the hope of
1:05:01
the Gospel, the hope of
1:05:04
eternal life, the hope of
1:05:07
resurrection, imperishable,
1:05:10
powerful, glorious life in
1:05:15
heaven.
1:05:15
Let's pray.
1:05:19
Lord, our God, we
1:05:20
thank you that, although
1:05:22
we find it so difficult to
1:05:24
handle these aspects of
1:05:26
your Word that take us so
1:05:27
deeply into your truth, we
1:05:30
thank you, O Lord, for the
1:05:32
clarity of that prospect
1:05:33
that you have given to your
1:05:35
people that is revealed to
1:05:36
us in these words.
1:05:38
And we give thanks tonight,
1:05:40
Lord, for the way that that
1:05:41
prospect is contained in the
1:05:43
hope that you give to your
1:05:44
people, the hope of eternal
1:05:46
life, the hope that's
1:05:47
anchored in the resurrection
1:05:49
of our Lord himself.
1:05:51
Oh, bless to us, we pray,
1:05:53
this word this evening.
1:05:55
Bless us in the life that we
1:05:57
presently live so that those
1:05:59
prospects may be those of
1:06:01
glory with you.
1:06:03
Help us, we pray, to
1:06:04
approach life every day in the
1:06:07
spirit of the psalmist who
1:06:09
could say that God would
1:06:11
guide him by his counsel and
1:06:15
afterwards receive him into
1:06:17
glory.
1:06:18
Hear us, we pray, for Jesus'
1:06:20
sake.
1:06:20
Amen.
1:06:23
Our final psalm this evening is
1:06:25
Psalm 84.
1:06:27
Psalm 84, again, it's in the
1:06:29
Scottish Psalter.
1:06:32
Verses 8 to 12, the tune is
1:06:34
Wetherby.
1:06:37
Lord God of hosts, my prayer
1:06:38
here, O Jacob's God, give
1:06:41
ear.
1:06:42
See God our shield, look on the
1:06:44
face of thine anointed dear.
1:06:48
Prospect of God the Lord in
1:06:50
verse 11, who is a sun and
1:06:52
shield, heal grace and glory
1:06:55
give.
1:06:55
So these verses 8 to 12, Lord
1:06:57
God of hosts, my prayer here.
1:06:59
Lord God of hosts, my prayer
1:07:13
hear, O Jacob's God, give
1:07:21
ear.
1:07:22
Lord God of hosts, my prayer here.
1:07:24
Lord God of hosts, my prayer here.
1:07:25
For in thy core, one may excel, hath
1:07:27
a thousand嘉
1:07:31
is the tenical
1:07:57
My God's will I keep adorn,
1:08:10
Thine dwell in tents of sin.
1:08:17
For God the Lord has sound and shield,
1:08:28
In grace and glory give,
1:08:36
And will behold the good of them,
1:08:46
That are right to live.
1:08:55
O thou that art the Lord of whose
1:09:05
That man is truly blessed,
1:09:14
Who by the adjured of the end,
1:09:24
On thee alone the best.
1:09:32
Amen.
1:09:33
I'll go to the main door again after the benediction.
1:09:37
Now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
1:09:40
The love of God the Father,
1:09:41
And the communion of the Holy Spirit,
1:09:43
Be with you now and evermore.
1:09:45
Amen.