...And Then There is Life

YouTube Channel —Love Christian Center, Douglasville

Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable. The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works. The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.

This is your call to worship. Let us pray.

This morning I have a message for you that may seem strange, because you typically only hear it at funerals. But as we go through life, especially now, death surrounds us.

You can’t turn on the news without the first story being about death. As of Sep 23, the number of lives we’ve lost from COVID in the United States alone is at 682,646 making it the worst pandemic to ever affect and infect the U.S. in history surpassing the 1918 outbreak of the Spanish Flu which took the lives of approximately 675,000 people, and they didn’t have a vaccine.

But that’s not all, our loved ones are dying from cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, respiratory diseases such as COPD, accidents, homicide, and suicide. In fact, suicides now include children as young as ten years of age. Lord we need your help today.

In the height of the pandemic, there were some people who could not even funeralize their loved ones because the deaths were occurring so quickly coroners couldn’t keep up, funeral homes couldn’t handle any more and gatherings were forbidden.

This interrupted the grieving process for many, because not being able to be with their loved ones in the hospital as they transitioned, then not having a funeral service where many would at least try to offer comfort; even if it didn’t help at the time. Families weren’t able to come together and grieve and comfort each other and celebrate and so, were left to deal with the crises on their own.

Online meeting platforms such as Zoom, Google Meets, and Microsoft Teams became a way for people to connect. In fact, it was a way people and families who may not have seen each other in years were able to reconnect and in some cases you could do it for free.

But death is still all around us and if you’re not equipped to handle it, you could become one of the statistics yourself. So this morning I’m here to give you some good news, in this world, that for some seems to be falling apart, that news and the title of my message today is …And Then There is Life.

The Scripture text will be coming from 1 Cor 15:51-58 This scripture is one that is often, if not preached, will be read at what we believers prefer to call Homegoing services. We call them that because we recognize this world is not our home, we simply dwell here for a season. So for those out there dealing with loss and grief, I pray that something I say to you today will bless you and give you comfort. And if you’re not dealing with loss or grief right now, just wait, and I pray you will remember and refer back to this message. Turn with me now to

1 Corinthians 15:51–58

New Living Translation

51 But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! 52 It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. 53 For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies. 54 Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled:“Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 O death, where is your victory?O death, where is your sting?” 56 For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. 57 But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.58 So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.

This message is for the believer, but if you’re not currently a believer and you’re listening now, it’s not too late.

The Apostle Paul wrote this letter addressed to the Corinthian church. Corinth was located in Greece and was a port city, so there was a lot of trade that occurred there. A lot of trade meant a lot of people, people from many different places, believing many different things when it came to religion.

Corinth was as famous for luxury as it was infamous for fornication and prostitution, and it was in this environment where Paul, with the blessing of God, had planted and was raising a Christian church. He spent two years with them, teaching them the ways of Christ, then after he left, he sent them this letter to correct some false teachings and scandalous behaviors to say the least, which had arisen in the church. In some cases, it’s not so different today. Amen?

In the first 14 chapters he addresses numerous vices or sins, from false teachers to pride to covetousness to lust to self-conceit to debauchery to adultery to incest. It was a long list, but the thing was, it was all behavior that was accepted in the community or world in which they were living. But they, just as we who are professed believers, have been called out of that world, called out of that darkness into the marvelous light. We have been changed and are no longer to love or operate in the sinful behaviors of the world.

But as Paul reaches the fifteenth chapter, he is confirming and explaining the great doctrine of the resurrection of Christ. He reminds them, because sometimes we can forget; when we get enthralled in a tribulation, sometimes

we can’t see anything but our problem,

we can’t see anything but our issue

we can’t see anything but our situation

we can’t see anything but our circumstance

we can’t see anything but our grief

When we can’t see past what’s in front of us, we sometimes forget that Christ died for our sins, that he was buried, and was raised from the dead on third day. We forget there were witnesses, He was seen by more than 500 of His followers, including all the apostles, and Paul.

He reminds them that all he did was not him, but God who was working through him by grace and that hasn’t changed today. God still works through His called-out believers by faith through grace, because no one is worthy, what matters is, we all preach the same message.

I’ve said before, the method may change, the messenger will change, but the message will always and forever be the same. Christ, him crucified and resurrected from the dead. It’s not a lie, it’s not a hoax, it’s not magic and it’s not a gimmick. What it is, is glorious!

But preacher what does that have to do with me? Well, I’m so glad you ask, we live in a WIIFM world, we’re in a, what’s in it for me era.

So here we go. Death came into the world through a man, that man was Adam when he sinned in the garden. Adam through God became a living person.

Before the flood man lived an average of over 300 years, with Methuselah living 960 years. Then man’s lifespan grew shorter to the point where in Psalm 90:10 we see, “Seventy years are given to us! Some even live to eighty.”

But, glory hallelujah when Jesus, the Son of the Living God, God in the flesh, a life-giving Spirit came through a miraculous virgin birth, everything changed. When Jesus came, with him came salvation, deliverance, healing, and so much more, but most importantly, with Jesus came resurrection from the dead. One man brought death, and another brought life. …And then there was life.

Because we are the offspring of Adam, earthly people are like the earthly man, we will experience death. But because we choose to be the children of God, heavenly people are like the heavenly man, we experience everlasting life. That’s what the Apostle Paul is telling us in this particular text.

Paul is warning the Corinthian church, that death is not the end, so don’t live your life like there is no reckoning after death because there is. Don’t you believe that death is the end and don’t be fooled by those who claim it is. For those of you who profess Jesus as your Lord and Savior, think about what you’re about to do, and if it’s a sin don’t do it, turn from the temptation into the way of escape God has provided.

And if you think resurrection from the dead is wonderful, there’s more good news, but first I have a question for you. How many have pain in your bodies? Me too. Well when we resurrect God gives us a new body, one without blemish, one that has no pain, no problem sleeping, no weight issue, no heartache, and no more death. Our new resurrected bodies that we receive after our earthly deaths, will live forever.

We’re buried in brokenness, but we’ll rise in glory.

We’re buried in weakness, but we’ll rise in strength.

We’re buried in natural human bodies, but we’ll rise in spiritual bodies.

…And then there is life. Isn’t that exciting?

But our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God, they cannot inherit what will last forever. Our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die, the mortal becomes immortal. Then and only then can we enter heaven.

So lean in close I’ve got a secret to tell you and this one, you can tell everybody! Paul says we will not all die, but we will all be transformed! And when that transformation happens, it will be in the blink of an eye, there won’t be time to say

Lord help me

Lord I’m sorry

Lord I believe

Lord I was wrong

Lord they told me

Lord I thought

When the last trumpet is blown, when it sounds, those who died in Christ will be raised to live forever and the living will also be transformed, you may know it better as the rapture. The time when Jesus returns for His own and He is coming. He’s coming for a church without spot or wrinkle and if the church has learned nothing else through COVID, we learned the church, is not the building, it’s the people.

And just as Jesus came to fulfil the law, when a believer dies, we fulfill the Scripture that says, “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting is sin, which brings death and the law is what gives sin its power. Without the law, there would be no sin, which is why what the people did before the law, was not counted against them.

But we who know better are to do better. We who have the Holy Spirit dwelling in our hearts,

leading us into all righteousness,

being that small still voice at times,

and at others, that very loud voice telling us

no,

put that down,

move over,

stop,

go the other way.

Being

The One who bottles up every tear

The One who brings back to our remembrance that which we have learned and read

The One who pricks our hearts to bless the stranger on the street

The One who gives us the courage to go, to say and to do.

The One who comforts us in our sorrows and griefs.

So praise God, in the name of Jesus we have victory over sin and death, so we don’t have to worry about dying. We don’t have to worry about our loved ones who die in the Lord. While we will grieve, it should not look like the world’s grief, because we know a secret.

Our grief is about missing the earthly person we loved, about not being able to see them and hug them and ask them questions and laugh with them. Our grief is about missing their presence.

But thanks be to God they are not lost, because Paul says to be absent from the body is to present with the Lord. So the believer, in time, can rejoice that their loved one who died in the Lord, is with him, they are not lost, because there is life after death. But we can rejoice that

they are no longer susceptible to the attacks of the enemy,

they no longer have to endure the things of the world,

they no longer have to deal with all that Satan tries to use to steal them away from God

they have the ultimate win.

And knowing this, eventually thoughts of them will bring a smile, instead of tears.

How long will that take you may ask? It takes as long as it takes. It’s a process and everyone’s process is different. And, “So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.”

To everything there is a season and a reason, you may not know what it is right now, you may not understand right now, but by and by when the morning come, when all the saints of God are gathering home, we will tell the story how we’ve overcome, and we’ll understand it better by and by.

As I said, this message is for the believer; if you have experienced loss, I just want to encourage you today, go through your process. God gave us the emotion grief, not to bury it, but to walk through it and come out on the other side stronger, and to perhaps walk someone through it in their time of need.

Because Jesus rose from the dead you have that same opportunity, you have that same privilege, because he’s death gave you life.

If you haven’t accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, I encourage you to not let this day pass without making that all important decision to invite Him into your heart and give him control of your life. The Bible says, “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.” It’s that simple, confession and belief.

If that’s you today and you made that declaration for the first-time, congratulations and welcome to the body of Christ. Now find a Bible believing, Bible teaching body of Christ where you can continue to learn about your decision and in time, to reach and teach others.

If you’d like Love Christian Center to be that place for you, you can leave a comment that you’d like to join with us, on whatever platform you may be viewing this message, or send us an email to [e-mail].

If you’d like to know more about this ministry, you can go to our website at www.lovechristianctr.org.

Now, if this ministry has blessed you in anyway, please consider supporting it financially, and here is your opportunity, should the Lord lead you. Grab your phones, open a new tab on your computer or get your checkbooks. If you’d like to give through

CashApp — $LoveChristianCenter

Givelify — Love Christian Center

PayPal — [e-mail]

Mail — 3500 State Hwy 5, Ste 101, Douglasville, GA, 30135

You can find all this information on the giving page of our website.

Let us bless the offering, Father, we confess Your Word over our lives’ and our finances. As we do so, we say that Your Word will not return to You void but will accomplish what it says it will do.

Therefore, we believe in the name of Jesus that all of our needs are met, according to Your riches in glory. We acknowledge You as Lord over our finances by giving tithes and offerings to further Your cause.

Father, on the authority of Your Word, we declare that gifts will be given to us; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over shall they be poured into our bosom. For with the same measure we deal out, it shall be measured back to us.

We remember that it is written in Your Word that he who sows sparingly and grudgingly will also reap sparingly and grudgingly, and he who sows generously that blessings may come to someone will also reap generously and with blessings.

And so Lord, we release this tithe to you that it may be used for the upbuilding of your Kingdom, that You Lord will multiply it 30, 60, 100 fold, in Jesus name we pray. Amen. We thank you for your giving and may God bless you richly.

In this season, where so many have experienced death, Paul gives hope to the believer, he encourages them to be strong and immovable. To always work enthusiastically for the Lord, it’s not now nor will it ever be useless. When you do it for God, He will bless it and you in Jesus’ name and please remember, death will come but after that …and then there is life.

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Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.