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.
Dr. Gary Habermas is a distinguished research professor and chair of the department of philosophy and theology at Liberty University. He has written several books on the resurrection of Jesus, which has been the focus of his study, writings, and lectures since he received his Ph.D. from Michigan State University in 1976.
In 1995 his wife, Debbie, had the flu. When it didn't go away as quickly as it should have, they went to the hospital for tests. There, the doctor said to Debbie, “You've got some serious problems here.”
Dr. Habermas says, “My heart sank into my stomach, and both turned instantly to water. I had to sit down. Little did I know that my belief in Jesus' resurrection was about to be severely tested by the sting of pain and grief.”
Debbie was diagnosed with stomach cancer. Four months later, at the age of 43 years, she passed away just after they celebrated their 23rd wedding anniversary. He had lost his best friend.
During Debbie's suffering, Dr. Habermas says, “I regularly took refuge in the truth of Jesus' resurrection. It had been my major research area for 25 years, and I appreciated a student who asked, ‘What would you do now if Jesus hadn't been raised from the dead?’”
Up until then, he knew that the resurrection had a historical, theoretical side, but he wasn't fully aware of its practical power.
Dr. Habermas says, “Jesus' bodily resurrection occupies the very center of the Christian faith. After he died on the cross to pay for our sins, Jesus was raised from the dead. He appeared to many people in his physical body that was now immortal.
How did all this help Dr. Habermas while his wife Debbie was dying? He says, “I imagined what God might say to me in response to my questions about Debbie. He would ask me, ‘Gary, did I raise my Son from the dead?’
“‘Of course, you did, Lord,’ Dr. Habermas would respond. ‘But why is Debbie dying?’
“’Gary, did I raise my Son from the dead?’ the question would come again.
“’Yes, Lord, but…’
“’Gary, did I raise my Son from the dead?’”
Dr. Habermas says, “I imagined God repeating the same question until I got his point. There was an answer to Debbie's suffering, even if I didn't know it. If Jesus has been raised, then I can trust that Debbie will be raised someday too.
“It was sufficient to know that because of Jesus' resurrection, and because Debbie and I belong to Jesus, then we will be together again—for all eternity!” (Gary Habermas, Decision magazine, April 2000; www.PreachingToday.com).
Christ’s resurrection is more than a historical fact with rich theological implications. It helps you face what’s coming with confidence no matter what you’re going through in the present. So, dear believer, since Christ has been raised from the dead, anticipate the future. Then…
IGNORE THE HYPOCRITES.
Disregard those who’s practice misrepresents their teaching. Refuse to believe teachers who’s doing falsifies their message.
1 Corinthians 15:29 Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf? (ESV)
The “people” here are those who say, “There is no resurrection of the dead” (vs.12). Yet they practice the ritual of baptism to benefit their dead relatives. This is not Paul’s practice, nor that of the church in the First Century. This is what the false teachers practice, and it doesn’t make sense to Paul. Why would these false teachers do something to benefit the dead when they don’t believe in the resurrection of the dead? Their practice misrepresents their teaching, so disregard them.
Seven years ago (2015), two Spanish conmen tried to sell a forged Goya painting, but their client, supposedly a rich Arab sheik, paid them in counterfeit banknotes of 1.7 million Swiss Francs (approximately 1.9 million US dollars). The middleman who had brokered the deal then vanished with the only genuine money in the affair—over 363,000 dollars.
Later, authorities arrested the two conmen when they attempted to deposit the 1.7 million counterfeit Swiss Francs in a bank in Geneva, which until then they thought were real. French customs discovered the fake Swiss Francs in the conmen’s suitcase. They informed the Spanish authorities, who then arrested the two conmen (Alasdair Fotheringham, “Con-men's attempt to sell forged Goya painting backfires when they are paid with fake money,” Independent, 2-23-15; www.PreachingToday.com).
A conman conned the conmen, and that’s the nature of false teaching. Whether they realize it or not, false teachers try to sell fake truth to fake believers, and all suffer as a result. So don’t buy into their schemes.
Since Christ has been raised from the dead, 1st, anticipate the future, 2nd, ignore the hypocrites, and 3rd…
ENDURE THE PAIN.
Persevere through the suffering. Persist through times of trial.
1 Corinthians 15:30-32 Why are we in danger every hour? I protest, brothers, by my pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day! What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die” (ESV).
Paul faced death every day. It was like He was in the arena at Ephesus, fighting the wild beasts with no hope of survival.
In 2 Corinthians 11, Paul describes the suffering he endured. He writes: “Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure” (2 Corinthians 11:23-27).
Paul endured a lot in the cause of Christ, but if the dead are not raised, it was all for nothing. Paul, quoting an Epicurean philosopher, says, “Let us eat, drink, and be merry,” disregarding any future consequences. Suffering is a waste if there is no future resurrection—might as well pursue pleasure and avoid pain as much as you can.
However, since God will raise His people from the dead, your suffering has significance. Your pain has purpose. For your “light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,” Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:17.
So persevere through the pain until you see the glory on the other side! Persevere through the pain until you discover how God used it to cause many people to honor Him. Persevere through the pain until you realize its overwhelming benefit as you walk around in the New Jerusalem in a new, resurrected, glorious body.
Norman Vincent Peale, former editor of Guidepost magazine, often told a story from the early days of his ministry. He was in Brooklyn, New York. One Christmas Eve he was out visiting some families, and he walked by a doorway. He noticed that on the door was the red ribbon of Christmas and a black wreath of mourning. While the people who lived there were not members of his church, he decided he would call on them anyway.
So he knocked on the door, and the father of the family came to the door. Dr. Peale introduced himself and they invited him in. He sought to console to the family when he saw in the sitting room a small casket containing their 6-year-old girl, lying in state. He expressed his sympathy to the father, who said, “Dr. Peale, it's going to be all right, for she is with God, you know.”
While they were talking, Dr. Peale could hear the mother of the family reading the Bible to two little boys of the family. She was reading Jesus’ words to His distraught disciples: “Because I live, you shall live also” (John 14:19; W. Frank Harrington, "The Love That Brought Him," Preaching Today, Tape No. 51; www.PreachingToday.com).
They endured the pain, because they embraced the resurrection! You do the same. Embrace the resurrection and so endure the pain.
Since Christ has been raised from the dead, 1st, anticipate the future, 2nd, ignore the hypocrites, 3rd, endure the pain. And finally…
STOP THE SINNING.
Quit living just for yourself and start living for the Lord. Cease going the wrong way and start going the right way.
1 Corinthians 15:33-34 Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.” Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame (ESV).
Immorality was a way of life in Corinth, and some of the [Corinthian church members] rejected the resurrection in order to rationalize their sin (Wiersbe). Such “bad company ruins good morals,” Paul says, quoting Menander, a popular, comic playwright of the day. So stay away from such people, because they do not know God. They have no relationship with God no matter what they claim. Instead, these false teachers lull you into the drunken stupor of sin. So wake up and stop sinning! Sober up with the power of Christ’s resurrection.
A pastor visited Italy, where he saw the grave of a man who had died centuries before. The man was an atheist, vehemently opposed to the Christian faith. But just in case some part of it might be true, he arranged for a huge, stone slab to be put over his grave to prevent his resurrection. Engraved into the stone were these words: “I do not want to be raised from the dead. I don't believe in it.”
However, an acorn must have fallen into his grave, because a hundred years later, a towering oak tree had grown up through the grave and split that slab.
That visiting pastor looked at that tree and asked, “If an acorn can split a slab of that magnitude, what can the acorn of God's resurrection power do in a person's life?”
Tim Keller, who tells the story, says, “The minute you decide to receive Jesus as Savior and Lord, the power of the Holy Spirit comes into your life. It's the power of the resurrection—the same thing that raised Jesus from the dead… Think of the things you see as immovable slabs in your life—your bitterness, your insecurity, your fears, your self-doubts [and I might add your addictions]. Those things can be split and rolled off. The more you know him, the more you grow into the power of the resurrection (Nancy Guthrie, editor, Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross, Crossway, 2009, p. 136; www.PreachingToday.com).
You who know God have no excuse for sin, because God works the power of Christ’s resurrection in you (Ephesians 1:19-20). So embrace the resurrection and eliminate rebellion from your life.
Since Christ has been raised from the dead, 1st, anticipate the future, 2nd, ignore the hypocrites, 3rd, endure the pain, and finally, stop the sinning.
Carlo Carretto put it this way:
When the world seems a defeat for God and you are sick with the disorder, the violence, the terror, the war on the streets; when the earth seems to be chaos, say to yourself, “Jesus died and rose again on purpose to save, and his salvation is already with us.”
Every departing missionary is an act of faith in the resurrection.
Every peace treaty is an act of faith in the resurrection.
Every agreed commitment is an act of faith in the resurrection.
When you forgive your enemy,
When you feed the hungry,
When you defend the weak, you believe in the resurrection.
When you have the courage to marry.
When you welcome the newly born child,
When you build your home, you believe in the resurrection.
When you wake at peace in the morning,
When you sing to the rising sun,
When you go to work with joy, you believe in the resurrection (Carlo Carretto “Blessed Are You Who Believed,” Christianity Today, Vol. 40, no. 4; www.PrechingToday.com).
Please, believe in the resurrection, and let it change your life!
