Good Times Ahead! Series

Sylvia Manzer, from Crowley, Louisiana, talks about the time when her five-year-old granddaughter returned home from a Children's Crusade. Her brother asked her why she didn't go up to the altar when they said, “All who want to go to heaven come up.”

She replied, “Because I didn't want to.”

Shocked, Sylvia explained: “Wendy, Jesus lives there. Don't you want to go to heaven and be with Jesus?”

She replied, “Well, of course, but not today!” Sylvia Manzer, “Lite Fair,” Christian Reader).

A lot of people want to go to heaven, but they’re in no hurry to get there.

How about you? Do you look forward to good times ahead, or do you dread the future? If you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to 1 Corinthians 15, 1 Corinthians 15, where the Bible tells us how we can look forward to good times ahead.

1 Corinthians 15:20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep (ESV).

Jesus’ resurrection is just the “first fruits” of more resurrections to come. Just as the people of Israel brought the first part of their harvest to the Lord (Exodus 23:16, 19; Leviticus 23:9-14), with the anticipation of more to come, so Jesus’ resurrection anticipates that believers who have died will also be raised from the dead.

1 Corinthians 15:21-22 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive (ESV).

Adam’s original sin brought death to the entire human race. Christ’s act of obedience on the cross brings life to all who depend on Him.

1 Corinthians 15:23-25 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet (ESV).

There is an order to the resurrections to come. First, Christ was raised from the dead nearly 2,000 years ago. Second, believers who have died will be raised from the dead when Jesus returns (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Revelation 20:4-6). That is, they will be raised to rule and reign with Christ on this earth for a thousand years (Revelation 20:6). Then comes the end. That is, after Christ’s 1,000-year reign on this earth, He will vanquish all who oppose His rule (Revelation 20:7-10). Then He will hand His Kingdom over to God the Father, and He will usher every believer into a new heaven and a new earth where He will abolish death forever (Revelation 21)!

1 Corinthians 15:26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death (ESV).

Revelation 21 says, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4). Christ will destroy death itself!

1 Corinthians 15:27 For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him (ESV).

God has put all things under Christ’s authority except Himself.

1 Corinthians 15:28 When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all (ESV).

God the Son voluntarily submits to God the Father, so that all of creation recognizes that He is creator and ruler of all.

That’s the future, my friends, for all who trust in God’s Son! Since God raised Jesus from the dead, He will also raise you from the dead. Then you will reign with Jesus. And He will ruin death forever. He will completely obliterate it, along with all mourning, crying and pain. So don’t fear the future if you’re a believer in Christ.

ANTICIPATE THE FUTURE.

Look forward to what’s coming. Be confident that no matter how bat it gets, your prospects are glorious!

Tim Keller, in a sermon on suffering, uses an illustration from his own life to describe the believer’s future. He talks about having a “horrible nightmare” many years ago. He dreamt his entire family had been slaughtered. Then he woke up, and his entire family was right there. They were there before he went to sleep. During the nightmare, he thought he had lost them. Then, after he woke up, He got them back again. He couldn’t even look at them without crying—for sheer joy (Tim Keller’s sermon, “Suffering;” www.PreachingToday.com).

Do you feel like you’re living in a nightmare right now? Please, don’t lose hope, you who believe in Jesus. Since God raised Christ from the dead, He will raise you from the dead. One day. He will rouse you from the sleep of death. The nightmare will be over, and you will experience the sheer joy of being in His presence with your loved ones forever.