Death Swallowed Up/God is a Warrior

Big Idea

Tension: How does God win the victory that displays his unique supremacy and humbles the proud?

Resolution: By destroying death itself.

Exegetical Idea: God wins the victory that displays his unique supremacy and humbles the proud by destroying death itself.

Theological Idea: In the resurrection of Christ, God has won the victory that displays his unique supremacy and humbles the proud because it destroys death itself.

Big Idea: Because Christ has conquered death, he has indisputably won the victory.

Outline

Introduction: “The Good Place”, People do big things because they want to be remembered after they die. People conquer countries because they want to be remembered.

God is a warrior

God’s plans are wonderful, faithful and sure

He has defeated the city, a difficult thing in ancient days (vs. 2, 11-12)

The Most feared nations will fear the LORD

He has been a stronghold for the poor, a shelter from teh heat, for the breath of hte ruthless is like a storm against a wall

You subdue the noise of foreigners - Moab

The Northern Kingdom, Babylonians, Assyria, Moab, Damascus, Cush and Egypt, The Southern Kingdom, Philistia, Tyre and Sidon, and finally, he will conquer the whole world.

How does he do this?

Christ has conquered death

On this mountain he will make a feast - a great victory feast

He will swallow up on this mountain the covering, the veil that is over all peoples

Illustration: The Good Place

He will swallow up death forever (Hosea 13:14)

Big Idea Reveal: Because Christ has conquered death, he has indisputably won the victory.

Already he has done this in Christ (1 Cor 15:54-58).

He has not yet done this (2 Cor 5:1-5)

The Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces

He has already done this (1 Thess 4:13) Death already has had its sting removed, it’s already been defanged.

Yet it is not yet (Rev 21:3-4)

It will be said on that day, “Behold this is our God, we have waited for him that he might save us. This it he Lord, we have waited for him, let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”

Already we can say that because of waht happened 2,000 years ago. We can say today, now, today is the day of salvation. Wait on the Lord!

Yet, not yet is this full. And as 1 Peter 1:8-9 says....

The resurrection of Christ is the victory of God. Big Idea Reveal: Because Christ has conquered death, he has indisputably won the victory. Here is what the prosperity gospel totally misunderstands. They think that the blessings of God consist of getting a raise, or getting a better grade in school, or just believing enough and GOd will make you rich. It is not that the prosperity gospel thinks God will give you too much

Application

There is no place for pride when it comes to Christianity

If you come before this Lord, this Messiah, this king thinking, “God, won’t you be impressed by me for all my good works,” God is not going to give you the time of day. Remember the Rich Young Ruler who came before Jesus and told him he’d accomplished the law and it took all of two seconds for Jesus to make a fool of him. Listen to me, God is not impressed that you have a lot of brownie points. You think you’ve made some accomplishments, Jesus rose from the dead.

The question here is not can you do great things, but will you humble yourself before the one who has done the great thing? Can you stop sshaking your fist and start bending your knee?

We need to wait on the Lord

Notice the way that vs. 9 looks forward it says, it will be said on that day, “This is our God, we have waited for him that he might save us.”

I think if we are true Christians, then there should be a sense that there is something lacking in the world. And if we are not careful, we will let that expectation turn to doubt, bitterness and resentment.

So how do we wait well for the Lord? I think it begins with recognizing that he is God and we are not. You know, that’s the whole point of Ps 46:10, waiting on the LORD.