YOUR LABOR IN THE LORD IS NOT IN VAIN

YOUR LABOR IN THE LORD IS NOT IN VAIN 1 Corinthians 15:58 With grateful acknowledgement of these sources of direction and inspiration: the Holy Spirit; the Word of God; Kenneth Chafin, “The Living Christ”; Gordon Fee, The First Epistle to the Corinthians; Charles Gresham, What the Bible Says About the Resurrection; George Ladd, I Believe in the Resurrection of Jesus; David Prior, The Message of 1 Corinthians March 27, 2005 Given by: Pastor Rich Bersett [Index of Past Messages] Introductory Have you seen the bumper sticker that grabs your attention with headline letters that say BORN AGAIN? In smaller font the next line reads, “and again and again and again,” a not-so-subtle reference to a belief in reincarnation. Anything but Christian, reincarnation suggests that the “essence” of a person is what’s in his or her spirit, but the body that person carries around is just incidental to who and what we are. Then when the person dies, we are told, s/he will get another body. Proponents of reincarnation variously teach that the type of body you get when you “come back” depends on your karma. If you’ve been a good and decent person you will come back with a better body. But, if you’ve been bad--variously interpreted as being selfish and sucking more out of life than you’ve given back—well then you will receive a less prestigious body. You might even come back as a very low life form, like an insect or a wild animal. Surveys tell us that some 30% of Americans really do believe in reincarnation. And here’s a sad note: George Gallup and George Barna both found that 20% of those who describe themselves as evangelical Christians also believe in this concept. But reincarnation is absolutely antithetical to the Christian gospel. The Bible’s teaching, which apparently these 20% have either never encountered or have simply refused to believe, gives us a very clear picture of what happens to people after they die, and it has nothing to do with coming back to this earth in a different bodily form and trying to do life better.  Hebrews 9:27 clearly says that "man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment…" The rest of the New Testament agrees completely with this idea. If you find yourself sympathetic to reincarnation, wise up and "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth." [webmasters note: 1 Timothy 2:15] I’d like for you to consider with me some further instruction from 1 Corinthians 15 this morning. Considering the Text • Verses 50-53 – new bodies, but not reincarnation Here we have an answer to an oft-asked question. It’s the question that was actually asked by the Corinthian believers of the apostle in verse 35: “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” What people really want to know is, does my individuality survive death? People have a vague fear that they will end up as only an impersonal part of some generic, universal soul, without distinction or recognition of ourselves and our loved ones. Paul covers the question in this chapter and, summarizing, he says this: 1) it is analogous to a seed and the plant that comes from the seed. First the seed dies, and only then does the plant spring forth with new life. So, our earthly bodies will die, and when they do, the believers will become new beings with bodies fit forever. 2) he compares the natural body and the spiritual body, saying that we have a body now, and we’ll have a body then! 3) the Bible also refers to heaven as a “new heaven and a new earth—indicating there will be familiarity between the two. Verse 50 – "I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable." And that’s where Paul starts, saying that you’re not going to heaven in a body like you have now. Why not? Two quick answers: 1) these bodies we live in, what the Bible calls our “tents,” are ruined by sin. I can hear someone now, “So that’s why I look like I do in the morning!” Well, yes! Sin has brought negative consequences to all of creation, and clearly one area where the Fall is evident is in that fact that our bodies age and die.  Mary was waiting for her first appointment in the reception room of a new dentist, and suddenly noticed his certificate, which bore his full name. Suddenly, she remembered a tall, handsome boy with the same name who  had been in her high school class some 40+ years ago. Upon seeing him, however, she quickly discarded any such thought. This balding,  gray-haired man with the deeply lined face was far too old to have  been her classmate!!   After he had examined her teeth, she asked him if he had attended the  local high school. "Yes," he replied. When did you graduate?" she asked. He answered, "In 1954." "Why, you were in my class!" she exclaimed. He looked closely and then asked, "Really?! What did you teach?" 1. Your supply of brain cells is finally down to manageable size. 2. Your secrets are safe with your friends because they can't remember them either. 3. Your joints are more accurate meteorologists than the national weather service. 4. People call you at 9 PM and ask, "Did I wake you?" 5. People no longer view you as a hypochondriac. 6. There is nothing left to learn the hard way. 7. Things you buy now won't wear out. 8. You enjoy hearing about other peoples operations. 9. You get into heated arguments about pension plans. 10. You have a party and the neighbors don't even realize it. 11. You sing along with elevator music. 12. Your eyes won't get much worse. 13. Your investment in health insurance is finally beginning to pay off. So we’re not taking these bodies to heaven with us because they’re ruined by the effects of sin, and 2) even if we could drag these old carcasses into glory they couldn’t take it! Heaven is an eternal existence! Can you imagine how this body would look in a couple millennia? No, we get a new body when we transition to heaven after death, and that new body is designed to last for the eternity we’ll be spending with the Lord. We won’t have to worry about heart disease and sags and wrinkles—just think, no one will need plastic surgery in heaven! No one will try to look better and end up looking as hideous as Joan Rivers! Verse 51 – "Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed" Someone quipped that this is the perfect scripture verse to hang on a nursery door! And when Christ comes, there will be some believers who are yet alive, of course. These living persons will in the moment of Christ’s second coming be transformed from the old body to the new. Those who have died (Paul uses the euphemism, “fallen asleep”) will be given new bodies to replace those that are decomposing in graves and crematories, shark’s bellies and earthquake rubble.  Here is a glorious truth, Christian. If you are trusting Christ for your salvation, when He comes again, you will be changed, translated from a body you have been growing increasingly alienated from to a new, perfect fit for heaven. If you are not a Christian, the Bible does not offer you such hope. Verse 52 picks up on that theme – "in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet." Paul gives three rapid-fire descriptions of that body-switching event; 1) in a flash – Paul uses the word ATOMA which is the term for the shortest conceivable length of time. We get our word “atom” from this word. 2) the twinkling of an eye—some translate this as a blink. A blink is pretty quick – approximately 350 milliseconds. 3) at the last trumpet – here Paul tells when this quick event will occur—it will be when the final trumpet sounds—always a signal of victory. Verse 52b – "For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed." There will be three nearly simultaneous events in that great day: 1) the trumpet will sound – 1 Thessalonians 4 tells us that this is “the trumpet call of God” and that it will occur at the same time as the shout of the archangel is heard. These two sounds will be instantaneous, simultaneous and stupendous. And my guess is it will be loud, as apparently the whole world hears it at the same time. More awesome than the sound and the event itself is what it signifies. Paul teaches us that when this happens, it is the climax of all eschatological events. This thunderous moment marks the celebration of the death of death. It is the exclamation point of history, when God sovereignly changes all of existence. Those who are exercising faith in Him through Christ get the first endowment of their heavenly reward—a new body, glorious and eternal, with which they enter the everlasting fellowship with God that Jesus has provided for them. Verse 53 – "For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality." Again, Paul insists this must happen, because the inhabitants of heaven will need physical bodies commensurate with living forever. I want you to notice that the Bible really leaves no room anywhere in its cosmogony for spirits without bodies, ghosts, disembodied souls. It is as if, contrary to the notions of the religions in our rebellious world, when God created human beings, He always intended them to have bodies. Even the Hebrew language confuses the ideas of soul and body by its use of the word NEPHESH or soul. When God breathed into the man He had fashioned from the clay, the man became a living nephesh.  So it is in the closing moments of creation’s short season, those persons who are being translated into glory will be given bodies immediately. What about those who have already died? What is their state? Are they in some nether existence between life and eternity? Do they have temporary bodies while they wait in paradise for the final resurrection? I don’t know, really. The Bible is not clearly specific in its teachings.  We do know that Paul said in Philippians 1:23 he desired "to depart and be with Christ, which is far better". That word “depart” he used there is the word elsewhere used to describe pulling up the tent stakes and striking camp, ready for a move to the next site. So among the many unspecific things we don’t know, we do know this much: whatever the euphemism of sleep means in the Bible as it refers to those who die in faith, at least it means this—when a believer in Christ dies, his next conscious moment is being woken to experience the presence of Jesus. Is that good enough for you, Christian? Can you be thankful to God that you know that much? Someone wisely said that the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. And that is what Paul drives at in verses 54 and 55 Verse 54 – "When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” The prophets had foretold of the coming day when even the last and greatest enemy, death, will be defeated. Isaiah told of the time to come when "On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all people, the sheet that covers all nations [death]; he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces…" (Isaiah 25:7-8) Remember, now, death was never the perfect will of God for humanity and for His world. Death entered through the sin of Adam and the sin of every man (Romans 5:12). Through the redeeming sacrifice of Christ, God reverses the effects of sin and the great Fall, at least for those who put their trust in Him. And this moment, this flash, blink of the eye, shout & trumpet laden moment is the climax of it all. This is the moment when officially the last enemy, death, is defeated. Verse 55 is a loose quotation from the prophet Hosea’s book, "Where, O death, are your plagues? Where, O grave, is your destruction?" (Hosea 13:14b) Paul apparently uses a popularized translation of it when he writes, "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" Death is our enemy. I tell you it hurts us to bury our parents. It broke our hearts to lose Joe Kniepman, and Beth Butler and Roy McRee and Caleb Ingerson. Death is our enemy—and rightfully so. God did not intend for us to have to face death—it was outside His perfect will for us. But our rebellion and the sin in our lives and our world led us to this consequence. Death is a menace, our punishment and our great fear.  The reason death is a fearsome and painful thing to us is not only the end of all that is familiar to us, but also the frightful prospect of judgment, knowing we are sinners who will stand before the holy God. Sin is the real stinger in death. And we became conscious of sin as we have been judged by the Law of God. So Law is the power of sin, and sin is the sting in death. In Christ, we have victory over the TRAGIC TRIO: Sin, law, and death. Quickly, to verse 57! Verse 57 – "But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." It’s just this simple—without the atoning death of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, for us, we are hopelessly lost and people of absolute despair. But Jesus did pay our debt for us, and He was raised bodily as the final vindication of His lordship. A boy and his father were driving down a country road on a beautiful spring afternoon, when a bumblebee flew in the car window. The little boy, who was allergic to bee stings, was petrified. The father quickly reached out, grabbed the bee, squeezed it in his hand, and then released it. The boy grew frantic as it buzzed by him. Once again the father reached out his hand, but this time he pointed to his palm. There stuck in his skin was the stinger of the bee. "Do you see this?" he asked. "You don't need to be afraid anymore. I've taken the sting for you." We do not need to fear death anymore. Christ has died and risen again. He has taken the sting from death.  Kenneth Chafin tells of the funeral service for an outstanding young mother. He said the sanctuary was packed with members and guests. For the close of the memorial service the congregation sang the very strong hymn “How Firm a Foundation”. When they came to the last stanza, the thirteen year old daughter of the woman stood. The family followed suit and the whole congregation did as well. As one they sang: The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose I will not, I will not desert to his foes; That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake, I’ll never, no, never, no, never forsake! Friends, the resurrected Christ is our only hope. Conclusion After having studied the structure and reasoning of this great chapter, I have concluded that the real message for us today, living out our lives still in this sin-saturated world of ours, and wanting to be faithful to the God who saved us and gave us such a blessed hope, is here in verse 58. "Therefore, my dear brothers stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord…" Paul’s closing comment in this section on the resurrection is one of encouragement to the saints to stand firm. It is not a friendly world we live in. It is a hostile war zone for the Christian who wants to live his life in service to Christ. After all, while we remain in this existence, Satan himself is the prince of this world, and those who are serious about God are a miniscule minority. And it takes diligence to stand firm. It takes commitment. Committed people have a sold-out faith—and I don’t mean they sell out to the pressures of this evil world, I mean they are sold out to God. Paul warns them that half-hearted faith in these conditions is no faith at all. The kamikaze pilot that was able to fly 50 missions was involved, but he was never committed. When the pressures of living righteously and the lure of the easy life of going along to get along come against us, our biggest temptation is to give up. One time coach of the Denver Broncos, John Ralston, said when he left the team, “I left because of illness and fatigue—the fans were sick and tired of me.” Let me clue you in, the world around you is going to get sick and tired of you and your stubborn witness for Christ, and they are dong everything they can to get you to throw in the towel. Stand firm! Paul says. What a story hit the news this past week. A young widow who had held her dying husband in her arms after he was stabbed to death went into deep despair, almost giving up on her faith. Depression gripped her soul so badly she gave up her five year old daughter to family members, she was so incapacitated. She lost her job. Just as she was at the very bottom, she obeyed the words of the apostle and she decided by God’s strength she would stand firm. She got a new job, a new apartment, and life was just beginning to turn around for her. Then she returned from the store one day to find a man in her apartment who took her hostage. Brian Nichols, convicted rapist, threatened to kill Ashley Smith, just as he had the four people in the courtroom days earlier. But God gave her the strength and she stood firm. Believing that God led Nichols to her door and praying the whole time, Ashley began to speak the Word of God to her captor, and to read lengthy sections of Rick Warren’s book, The Purpose Driven Life to him.  God used her to bring Nichols to justice and he delivered her miraculously from what would otherwise have been certain death. Why? She stood firm, she did not let her circumstances mover her from her faith in God, and she gave herself fully to the work of the Lord. And God delivered her from evil. Now, had Ashley Smith died at the hands of her kidnapper, she would be more fully delivered from evil than she is today. She would have escaped the bonds of this life and entered into the joy of the Lord, because she was a Christian. That’s my point—the person who puts his faith in Christ and stands firm, diligently serving Him no matter what comes his way—that person can’t lose. Even when he dies, he wins! Now the message of 1 Corinthians 15:58 is this: because the Lord Jesus gave Himself fully for you, dying in your place, rising from the dead to demonstrate the hope to which He has called you, filling you with His own Spirit to equip you in this life, because of what He has done for you, it is right for you to want to serve Him. He did all that for you, and has stored up for you the riches of eternal life with Him. It is perfectly right and appropriate that you should want to live for Him and His kingdom all the days of your life on this mortal ball of clay. Runner's World (8/91) told the story of Beth Anne DeCiantis's attempt to qualify for the 1992 Olympic Trials marathon. A female runner must complete the 26-mile, 385-yard race in less than two hours, 45 minutes to compete at the Olympic Trials.  Beth started strong but began having trouble around mile 23. She reached the final straightaway at 2:43, with just two minutes left to qualify. Two hundred yards from the finish, she stumbled and fell. Dazed, she stayed down for twenty seconds. The crowd yelled, "Get up!" The clock was ticking--2:44, less than a minute to go.  Beth Anne staggered to her feet and began walking. Five yards short of the finish, with 10 seconds to go, she fell again. She began to crawl, the crowd cheering her on, and crossed the finish line on her hands and knees. Her time? Two hours, 44 minutes, 57 seconds.  (Hebrews 12:1) reminds us to run our race with perseverance and never give up.  So Paul exhorts all of us Christ-followers to "Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord." Don’t miss that last clause: "because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." I want to tell you clearly and emphatically that it is the will of God that you serve His purposes in this world. And along with every other blessing of our heavenly hope, He has also promised that, for the Christian, our good works will follow us there. God is faithful, and He takes note of every good work done for Him in the name of Christ. Knowing that your work for Him is not in vain, I exhort you to  1. Not grow weary in doing good - Paul wrote these words in Galatians 6:9 – "Let us not become weary in doing good for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up" Illustration of Francis Schaeffer. Sociologists tell us that even the most introverted individual will influence ten thousand other people during his lifetime. 2. Not be concerned about how little you can do Illustration of Mother Teresa – “I am a little pencil in the hand of God. He is using me to write a love letter to His world.” Illustration of working with youth. Got three young people to attend a Bible study. They arrived late, acted up, didn’t do their homework and generally disappointed me in several ways. I almost quit—not just the Bible study, but any plans of continuing in ministry as a career direction. All three of them ended up in Christian ministry. 3. Not be discouraged by setbacks In Ruth Tucker’s great book, From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya, she tells the story of David Brainerd. Taking lines from his journal: “My heart is sunk…It seemed to me I should never have any success among the Indians. My soul was weary of my life; I longed for death, beyond measure.” That we the way David Brainerd felt at that point, early in his work as a missionary to Native Americans at the beginning of the 1700’s. Things didn’t improve much for the first two years, in fact. “He felt his prospects of winning converts ‘as dark as midnight’. Three years into the work, though, he finally witnessed a revival among the Indians of Crossweesung in New England, and after another year and a half, the number of converts numbered 150—not much by today's mass evangelistic standards, but profoundly significant in his day. Unfortunately, Brainerd died after only five years on the mission field, at age 29. After Brainerd's death, Jonathan Edwards—whom some consider America's greatest theologian—published Brainerd's journals. These were read widely in America and Europe. In fact, William Carey, the "father of modern missions," the man who ignited the modern Protestant missionary movement, which has been responsible for millions upon millions of conversions worldwide, pointed to Brainerd's journals as a key source of his inspiration to take up the missionary life. Who, then, can judge whether our work is worthwhile? Certainly we cannot when we're in the midst of discouragement.’ [Back to Top]