I’m Coming Up!

1 Corinthians 15:35–43 NRSV

But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” Fool! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And as for what you sow, you do not sow the body that is to be, but a bare seed, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. Not all flesh is alike, but there is one flesh for human beings, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. There are both heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one thing, and that of the earthly is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; indeed, star differs from star in glory. So it is with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power.

Intro:

I am approaching this new preaching series from the perspective of growth stages.

When we look at the plant there are 4 stages of growth.

Seed of a plant

Germination

Seedling

Increase

Today I want to deal with stages 1 and 2........that is the seed and the germination phase.

And I believe in today’s text we get a chance to better understand how this growth process relates to our real life experiences......

(pause)

Barrel:

When I was a freshman in college I experienced my last growth spurt....

And it was during this tie that I was awakened out of my sleep one night with a pain that was so excruciating that I still remember what it felt like right now.....

.....it woke me up out of my sleep and I drove down the street to purchase some Motrin to relieve the pain.

It was then that I understood what Growing Pains were!

(pause)

And....

When I called my mamma to see if this pain was normal...

....as I described the experience she surprisingly said,

“Oh you’ll be ok, you’re just going through “Growing Pains!”

(pause)

Now.....

I thought I was done growing.........

…but apparently God had different plans.

(pause)

And....

It is in the Promises of God that we Understand God’s plans!

(slight pause)

And...

May I suggest to you that somewhere in the strategy of the Divine creator there is a built in mechanism of pain that is attached to our growth process in life.

(pause and expound)

1 Corinthians 15:35–36 NRSV

But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” Fool! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.

According to the text...

The question here implies doubt in regard to the resurrection with the further implication that it is absurd to consider bodies being given to the dead.....

Because in their mind they were trying to figure out....

“How is this possible?”

Because....

......the hardest thing for us to understand is how it could be possible to lose at this level, and then be able to come back from it!

(pause)

And Jesus responds to them be calling them “Foolish!”

And the point that Jesus is trying to make is this....

“When you plant a seed in the ground, it has to DIE........before it can SPROUT up out of the earth!”

(pause)

In other words....

Unless what you Sowed dies.......

Unless the Seed dies......

It can not Germinate....

It can not be made alive!

(pause)

And Jesus says.....

It’s foolish to expect something from a Seed that won’t die!

(pause)

It’s foolish to expect something to Sprout up from a life that aint never been through nothing!

(pause)

And.......

.....because we are afraid to lose the Seed we are resuscitating what needs to be ressurrected.....

(slight pause)

But according to this verse.....

Some things are going to need to DIE!

in order to COME to LIFE for real!

(pause and expound - “Let it die”)

I don’t know if you have ever had this experience.....

.....but there has been times when I have planted something that I thought didn’t have any potential

......but that’s just stage 1 and 2!

(pause)

And if the truth be told.......

.....In this month of June

......several months after March

.......we’re all looking for the SEED

But I hear God saying........

This is the season for the SEED to DIE......

Watch this.......

Let me remind us again....

.....that on NYE we told you that this was the year to “RUN BLIND”

And I told you everybody was going to call me backwards for preaching that message.......

Because this is the year 2020........

(pause)

But let me ask you a question.....

How many people saw this coming??????

(Long pause)

Now I still believe......

(slight pause)

.....that God is in CONTROL

And the reason we are unable to see with complete clarity is because.....

The seed has been planted under the ground!

(pause)

And instead of trying to figure out what a DYING SEED is doing

We should be trusting the God who is in control of the entire process!

(pause)

and what I have found is that when I can’t see anything....

......that does not mean that aint nothing happening!

(pause and slight expound)

Look at it now.....

1 Corinthians 15:37 NRSV

And as for what you sow, you do not sow the body that is to be, but a bare seed, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain.

The text says.....

When a bare seed is planted into the dirt.......

You are not putting into the dirt the branches, or the leaves, or the stem of the butter beans plant, or the tomato bush, or the Okra plant into the soil......

(pause)

.....but when it goes down into the earth it’s just a bare seed.

And so the text is saying......

What’s getting ready to come UP later...

....is not going to look like what’s being buried right now!

(pause and Optional expound)

Look at it...

1 Corinthians 15:38 NRSV

But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body.

And I believe that what Paul is sharing here is that....

God has the power to do in Resurrection what God did in Creation.....

(pause)

In other words......

Be careful Baker......

There’s something God breathed that’s got to come from a Seed that God allows to DIE!

(pause)

Braxton asked me yesterday....

“Daddy if Scientists are so smart, how come they haven’t made people be able to fly!”

(pause)

And I had to explain to her.....

That Man can only go so far,

They created the Airplane, and the Helicopter......

But there are some things that only God can do!

(pause)

And in my spiritual imagination I hear Paul saying,

Now when you Come UP......

God chooses what that looks like!!!!

(pause and expound)

Look at the text.....

1 Corinthians 15:39 NRSV

Not all flesh is alike, but there is one flesh for human beings, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish.

Paul says.....

......from a physical perspective

.....God covers Red Snapper fish one way

......and then God covers Bald Eagles and Hummingbirds another way

......and then God covers Lions and Elephants a different way

......and still when it comes to Human beings God covers us in an entirely different way

(slight pause)

And you will never see an Elephant dressed like a Red Snapper

And you will never see a Lion dressed like a Hummingbird

....or a Bald Eagle dressed like a Human being

(pause)

And here’s what I find significant about this......

There is Intentionality in a God choice for my life!

(pause)

And so when the Seed died.........

......and the germination process brought forth the plant

God said......

“You look like an Oak tree, and you look like a Pine tree”

(pause)

And not only did God prescribe an appearance for other life....

But every body that walks this green earth......

.....was God chosen!

(pause and expound)

Look at the text....

1 Corinthians 15:40 NRSV

There are both heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one thing, and that of the earthly is another.

1 Corinthians 15:41 NRSV

There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; indeed, star differs from star in glory.

In verses 40 and 41 Paul is again using an example to bring clarity to his point of what happens to the Seed.....

And he points to the variation of Angels in heaven and people on earth..

And then he points to the variation of our Solar System and its God created Splendor

(pause)

And all Paul is trying to say in my spiritual imagination is that......

If your AGENDA and MOTIVES are to BOX God in to only CREATE in a monolythic theme.........

It will never work!

(pause)

Because God is not a God that produces without Splendor and Beauty....

But everything God touches looks like it has been touched by God!

And so stop trying to SHUT OFF the GOD PRODUCED splendor on your life....

And not only that but STOP trying to COMPARE SPLENDOR.....

Because the text says....

No two stars are the same.....

....but they each differ in magnitude and brightness

.....but the one thing that is confirmed is that they are all BEAUTIFUL!

(pause and expound)

Watch this....

1 Corinthians 15:42 NRSV

So it is with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable.

The text says......

What ever God brings back from the dead has Splendor too!

What ever God brings back from the dead is Beautiful too!

(pause)

Just because it died doesn’t mean that it does not have worth or value.......

As a matter of fact....

The seed is supposed to Die.......(perishable)

But.......

What God raises up from it, can’t DIE!!!! (imperishable)

(pause)

It went down as a SEED.....

But it’s coming up as a PLANT.....

(pause)

“GROWING PAINS!”

And I’m preaching to somebody who is trying to reduce pain at the SEED level....

But......

God told me to tell you that everything you are losing is going to give you a GREATER POWER!

(pause)

Look at verse 43!

1 Corinthians 15:43 NRSV

It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power.

The text says......

What is planted is decaying.........

And there is some pain involved in the decaying process.....

But in my spiritual imagination I hear the text saying........

(slight pause and make eye contact)

Just because it DIED, don’t mean it’s going to stay there!

(pause)

Because the text says,,,

It is raised in GLORY or Splendor!

One scholar says,

“This is decay’s reversal”

Meaning......

Something went DOWN......

But pay attention because.......

Something is getting ready to COME UP.........

(pause)

Watch this.......

“It is sown in weakness.....

.....but it is raised in power!”

(pause)

And in my spiritual imagination......

I see the text saying......

Limitations

Weakness

Incapacity

Decrease

Sickness

Poverty

Injustice

Fatherless

Denied

Loss

Now......

That’s how you describe my going down........

But........

the bible says,

I’m COMING UP......

(pause)

But here’s the thing..........

HOW do I know I’m COMING up when I’m buried and don’t know what my tomorrow holds?

Well the bible said....

It is sown in weakness.....

....but it is RAISED

....in POWER.....

(pause)

And so.......

......the reason you know you’re coming up is because....

You are going to be RAISED with POWER!

And that means....

that the SEED was holding a PROMISE!

(pause)

And even though we have Growing Pains.........

And even though DIRTY SYSTEMS tried to get rid of it......

(pause)

The SEED DECAYED..........

But the PROMISE was connected to the Raising POWER

And so.....

(pause)

That might be how you describe my going down....

But that aint how you describe my COMING UP!!

But the way you describe my coming up.....

Due to the fact that.......

POWER is connected to the PROMISE is.........

Uplift

Justice

Powerful

Unlimited

Prosperous

Increase

Healing

Srengthened

Faithful

Incredible

Rebuilt

Restored

Reclaimed

“I’’m COMING UP!”