A Secret You Can't Keep
Among the Ruins • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 2 viewsWhat will become of us has been determined by the obedience of Jesus Christ our Savior
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YAH trip to Charleston - Great Trip
Ft. Sumter - raise large flag because of folks being sworn in as citizens that day
We helped - but Kenneth Cobb was the man.
He got to clip the flag to the ropes and start the pull up.
It was a great day for him and it made us very proud of him and all of those who have served in the armed forces.
Because Jesus was obedient, we know how this ends.
Because Jesus was obedient, we know how this ends.
I watched a reel the other day of a pastor who was teaching in a house church somewhere where Christianity is outlawed.
How he got in, I don’t know - but it happens.
For those who have attended Secret Church, that’s how David Platt got that started.
People in some countries meet in secret churches because they could be jailed or even killed for following Jesus.
They don’t just get called names, they lose their lives.
This pastor said of the 22 people sitting there, 18 had been in jail because they were Christ followers.
He had some Bibles with him, but he didn’t have enough Bibles to pass around for everyone.
One lady gave hers to someone else to use, because she could recite the entire chapter they were studying from memory.
She said Bibles get confiscated, but if you memorize it, no one can take that away from you.
When he was ready to leave, they asked him to pray that they could worship like Americans get to.
And the preacher said he would not pray for that.
Some of them traveled 13 hours on foot to get there.
They sat on a wooden floor for hours at a time.
Where they met had no heat or air conditioning, they had no comfort.
And still they came.
We aren’t that devout.
They couldn’t hear enough.
They couldn’t get enough.
Because they knew
Though they died, yet would they live again.
Today we finish up 1 Corinthians 15.
So far in this chapter Paul has told us what was of first importance
1 Corinthians 15:3-4 “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,”
And not just raised, but bodily raised.
Contrary to what the best minds of their times believed.
Contrary to popular culture and all of the elite taught.
Jesus was raised in a supernatural body and he appeared to over 600 people.
Paul strongly reminds us that if there was no bodily resurrection
Then there is no Christian faith
In fact, it’s even worse than that - we are lying about God and wasting our lives
If Jesus wasn’t raised.
But here’s what motivated the persecuted church.
Jesus was raised first and because of that, we will be raised with him.
With the same type of supernatural body.
And today he finishes up by telling us
Let me tell you when this will happen
And let me tell you what to do until it does happen.
Our text today is 1 Corinthians 15:50-58.
If your child is from kindergarten through the second grade, I hope you visited our kids cart in the gathering area.
In it there is a sheet they can use to follow along with the message today.
So kids, if you have your kid’s sheet out, the three words you are listening for are:
Changed, clothed and victory.
After the service, when you return your bag to the kids cart, you’ll get a prize so make sure you check that out.
And if you are our guest today, we are very happy the Lord led you here.
It is our prayer that you will feel like this is home
And that the Lord will bless you through our singing and His word.
Please follow along with me as I read from God’s word, 1 Corinthians 15:50-58
I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.
For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.
When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Imagine that the climate of the United States continues to change.
Imagine that the hostility that people feel towards Jesus continues to grow.
Since 2020, there have been at least 275 incidents of vandalism against Catholic churches in America.
I couldn’t find statistics on Protestant churches.
In June and July of 2021, 68 Christian churches in Canada were burned.
Imagine if every church got burned - bulldozed
Except state sponsored churches - something baptists risked life and limb to get away from
Suppose it was you that walked 13 hours on foot - head on a swivel to make sure no one notices.
Just so you could sit for 3 hours on the floor listening to someone talk about Jesus.
What if you had heard - maybe even memorized Matthew 5:10
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
And then you hear someone read Paul - 1 Corinthians 15:50 “I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.”
How do those words land on a person’s ears who knows that death is just a slip of the tongue away?
But listen to the promise - “flesh and blood cannot inherit...”
This body that I’m in right now - as much as our Spirit soars when we sing God’s praises
As much as we are moved when the Word touches us deeply - sometimes, shuts us up and makes us simply sit and know.
Yet, there is still a better life coming.
1 Corinthians 15:51 “Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,”
“Listen, I tell you a mystery.
I tell you a secret.
And it’s a secret that, if it burrows its way into our hearts, it’s a secret we can’t keep.
The Young at Heart went to Charleston for 3 days this week - I told everyone.
You go to the beach - to the mountains - out west
To Yellowstone, to the grand canyon.
You have to tell.
This is like that - this is a secret we cannot keep.
“We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.”
One of the things Covid changed for the worst, I think, is funerals.
Many, many people die now direct to burial.
There is no funeral.
Sometimes folks say they will have a memorial service and then sometimes they don’t.
But death is a moment - it’s a chance for the secret to be told.
If we follow Jesus - we shall be changed.
People need to know.
Listen to the words, church.
Internalize them, savor them.
Changed - that’s word number one, kids.
Changed.
This changed means “to cause a difference by altering the the nature or character of something.”
We won’t be the same.
That part of us, that mortal part of us - mortal means something is susceptible to death.
That part of us that works so hard to never feel pain, to always feel pleasure
That causes us to make wonky, ridiculous, heart-breaking decisions.
It will be changed - altered.
We will no longer be natural - for everything that means in your mind.
Our bodies will be super-natural.
Changed from darkness into light.
Changed from death into life.
1 Corinthians 15:52 “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.”
I know you have seen some of the cheesy movie scenes where all of a sudden, there are empty clothes everywhere.
In one movie airplanes were crashing to the ground and cars without drivers were crashing into other cars.
Cemeteries had holes all in them where graves had blown open.
I have no idea what that will look like - but this much we can know.
In a moment - in a moment - things are going to change.
In a moment - the idea behind that word here is that it is the smallest division of time at which no smaller division can be made.
Have you heard of Planck time?
That’s a term physicists use when talking about the creation of the universe - the big bang.
By the way, I’m a proponent to the big bang - I fully expect that when nothing existed and God spoke everything into existence
I suspect it was a very big bang.
And it happened very quickly - so quickly in fact, scientists needed a new unit of time to describe it.
So, Planck time.
The smallest unit of time we can physically calculate, fathom, understand is a Planck.
It is 1/1 - and add 35 zeros to the one , of a second.
There is your moment - that is the twinkling of an eye - it is an indivisible moment of time.
You won’t see it coming - you won’t know it is happening.
We will simply be changed.
The trumpet will sound - will it be an actual trumpet?
I don’t know - it will be some type of sound that is either a call to arms or a call of judgment.
You see trumpets blown in the Old Testament for both of those reasons.
Paul is extremely consistent about this:
For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.
For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
I’ve had folks - me kind of included - that say I’m afraid of heights
You’ll never know - it will happen so quickly that we won’t comprehend the change until we notice
We are in a supernatural body - and so is everyone else who is in Christ
That we know and love from home - that we know and love from church
Who have trusted Jesus.
What’s that going to be like?
1 Corinthians 15:53 “For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.”
Must put on translates a word that means to clothe - to get dressed - that’s your second word kids - clothes.
We will all put on new clothes.
Listen Christian, please listen.
Those superstar spiritualists who tell us that we’ll all go to heaven when we die
Where we will head towards the bright light and become one with the bright light
And it’s all joy and love and happiness and contentment and acceptance and everything that is consistently missing from this life.
They are lying to us.
You won’t meld into the light.
When the Planck moment happens, you will be clothed in a new body
Remember I said mortal means it is susceptible to death.
Immortal means you will never be susceptible to death again.
Your body will never be subject to decay - it will be different in a way we cannot comprehend
A body no one will ever had to stand over and mourn its loss again.
A body that will never be watched in a hospital.
A body that will never, ever be in a nursing home.
If you are older than 30, does this resonate? 2 Corinthians 5:4-5
For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.
He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.
Right now we hurt - we groan - we are burdened.
But rather than toss off this body and be some kind of spirit
We want to put on the body that Jesus planned for us to have in the first place.
And Adam and Eve body - a perfect body
One that isn’t tainted by - anything.
A body we can’t even begin to understand.
But we know is going to happen
Because even right now, some of you can sense in your spirit the guarantee you have been given.
The Holy Spirit is telling you right now, this is true - this will happen to you.
This is yours - your moment is going to come.
We can know:
1 Corinthians 15:54-56 “When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.”
This is Paul’s end zone celebration.
The game winning touchdown has been scored.
The team rushes to the end zone and their victory cheers taunt their opponents.
“Who’s number one now?”
“Who’s your daddy?”
I can tell you who your daddy is.
1 Corinthians 15:57 “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Victory - that’s word number 3 kids kart kids - victory.
Can you imagine - years of fear of being caught.
Of sneaking to church to hear
To knowing in your heart what the truth is
Hearing someone preach the truth, and teach the truth and read the truth.
Knowing - you know what I’m talking about - that sometimes when you are reading the Bible and the words take your breath away.
And all you can do is clutch your Bible to your chest and hug it tight.
Imagine being that person - persecuted, staring death in the eye every time you go to church and here you hear the word, “victory.”
One day all of this will be worth it.
All of the heart ache, fear, standing when no one else will, all of the family who looks at you like you are crazy - who just don’t understand.
All of this will be worth it and we know why - Jesus was crucified on a wooden cross.
Nails driven in his hands and feet.
He died on that cross.
Was pulled down and buried in a nearby tomb where his body turned cold, and became rigid and prepared to turn to dust.
But on Sunday morning, in Planck time, Jesus was clothed in a new body
A Supernatural body - the first of many more to come
Because God the Father planned it - He willed it - It gives Him great satisfaction to see it.
To see us - raised to new life.
1 Corinthians 15:57 “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
But you know, Paul didn’t sit around staring at the clouds every day waiting to hear a trumpet.
He kept working - because he had a secret he couldn’t keep.
1 Corinthians 15:58 “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”
Therefore - based on everything Paul said in this chapter.
Be steadfast, immovable
Be convinced - whole heartedly - to the core - without reservation
Unshakable, steady, confident - assured.
This secret is true and it should be told
To anyone and everyone wherever we go.
And you should know that every time you tell someone, it’s not a wasted moment.
They may not seem to hear - they may act like they don’t want to hear
But the Lord has other plans.
You keep putting one foot in front of the other.
You keep standing firm.
You keep holding on.
It’s only a matter of time
When the Lord is ready, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, we will all be changed.
2 Corinthians 9:15 “Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!”
Invitation
Communion
Paul taught us in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread,
and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
John tells us in Revelation that Jesus said Revelation 22:16
“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”
And the church responded Revelation 22:17
The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.
And Jesus says one more time Revelation 22:20
He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
Normally at communion, we talk about the broken body and spilled blood but today, let’s be different.
Let us rejoice - let us celebrate.
Because Jesus was bodily resurrected from the dead, we will be too.
Jesus is coming again - with the shout of the archangel - with the sound of the trumpet
He’s coming - and we shall all be changed.
And what an adventure that will begin.
Let us pray:
If you are a born again, baptized believer, you are invited to join us.
Everyone please exit your pew to the left and come forward.
The gluten free bread is at ____________________ station.
You may eat the bread as soon as you receive it.
Please return to your seat after you celebrate for us to rejoice together in one more song.
Please come forward now.