Thanks Be To God

So this morning is Easter Sunday, Resurrection Sunday, and it comes on the heels of Good Friday, when we remember Jesus' death on our behalf so that our sins might be forgiven. One way of explaining the relationship between these two days, Good Friday and Easter Sunday, is to say that life precedes death, life comes before death. And in one sense, it's the other way around. It seems kind of strange to say that life comes before death because... It seems that, I'm sorry, I've got this backwards. Forgive me. What I meant to say, I misread this, is one way of explaining the difference between Good Friday and Easter is that death comes before life. That's what I meant to say. It's commonly understood by us that life comes before death, and in one sense that's true, right? We're born, we live, and when is our life over? Well, when we die.

And so we understand naturally that life comes before death. And if this was as much as God had revealed to us about how life and death and how these things work, then it would be sufficient for us to consider it in these terms. That life comes and it happens and then death ends it all. That life leads to death. But God has spoken and instructed us beyond this. He's told us that there's more to us. than simply living this life here on earth and then dying. There is life that comes after our earthly death. Each of us, as I prayed, will face this enemy, death. And yet when we succumb to it, when we do die, it's only a temporary death. Death will have bound us, but it won't bind us forever. If you think of a graveyard, there are strange places. One of the places...

Where I work now, there's an old, old graveyard. People buried in the late 1700s there in downtown Mooresville. And a graveyard's a strange place because it seems like it's a place of agony and misery and sadness. But what will a cemetery be when Jesus returns? It's going to be full of people and all of those bones, those dead, dry bones. are going to rise at the call of their master. And for those who are raised at that point and who love Jesus Christ, they will be raised to life in his name. Their soul will be reunited with their body that was buried perishable, that will be raised imperishable, and they'll spend the rest of eternity with him in heaven. And so this is our topic this morning, that life comes after death. And all of this, our discussion this morning, is going to be built on the death and burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Our text this morning is 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verses 51 through 58. Would you please stand now for the reading of God's word? Behold, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed. In a moment, in a twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet,

For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable and will be changed. For this imperishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law, but thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord. This is the word of the Lord. You may be seated. Now, if you've read 1 Corinthians...

15 before. This is a whole chapter dedicated to the question of our bodily resurrection. Will we be resurrected? When we die and we're planted in the ground as a seed, will we remain there forever? And Paul is arguing this point because there are many in Corinth who don't believe that there's anything beyond this life to consider, much less to hope for. There are many in this place that believe that when you die, that's it, it's over. That life begets death, and then that's it. And so Paul argues and says, no, there is life in this world, and then there's death in this world, and then there's life in eternity that comes through the resurrection, through our resurrection, our bodies being resurrected, raised from the dead, and all of his argument is built on Jesus Christ having gone before us first being raised from the dead himself, which is what we celebrate on Resurrection Sunday, Easter Sunday. So I want to read to you from a little earlier in the chapter, a couple of verses that...

lay out for us the intensity or the seriousness or the severity of the resurrection, or if there's not a resurrection. Listen to what Paul says about us and about himself if there is no resurrection. These are verses 12 through 19 of the same chapter, 1 Corinthians 15. He says, But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain. Your faith also is vain. Moreover, we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised.

For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless. You are still in your sins. Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied. And so Paul's whole argument concerning our resurrection hinges on Jesus' resurrection. And we could finish the sentence, if Jesus wasn't raised from the dead, then what? What is the implication of Jesus not being raised from the dead? From these verses. First, our preaching is vain. It means that everything that we say and everything I say and everything that I tell you is true, it's vain. It's worthless. It's of no consequence. And because what I have to say as the preacher is of no consequence, neither is your faith. Your faith also is vain. There's no hope for you to have.

Paul goes on and he says, if Jesus Christ hasn't been raised from the dead, then in fact we have become liars and blasphemers of God because we told you that he was raised. And if he wasn't raised, then we've lied to you. And not only have we told you something that's not true, we've lied to you about who God is and what he's done. And if Jesus Christ isn't raised, your faith is worthless. It's as garbage. It's to be thrown out. And because your faith is worthless and Jesus Christ hasn't been raised from the dead, you're still in your sins. So at this point, do you want the resurrection to be true? Yes, you want the resurrection to be true. You want that to say, yes, that happened. I believe that that happened. And finally, feeling the weight of the consequence, Paul ends by saying, if Jesus Christ has not been raised from the dead, then everyone who's died, who's fallen asleep before us, all of the people you love,

All of the people who were here at one time and are not anymore, there's no hope for them. If we've hoped in Christ in this life only, then what? Then we above all men are most to be pitied. We are the most pathetic and miserable brand of man that there is. Because we are truly and utterly hopeless. This is an awful thought. It's an awful thought to think that when we die, there is no more. There's nothing left to be done. There's nothing left that will change. It's just over. Now you have to ask for a minute, if you think about the people at Corinth, why did they deny the resurrection? And there's a lot of answers to that question. You could say, well, the Sadducees, they denied the resurrection. So there's classes of people, there's philosophers.

a sect of the Jews, and all kinds of other people who don't believe in resurrection, who believe in all kinds of other stuff. And so maybe the Corinthians were influenced by some or a couple of those different thoughts, and that's why they didn't believe. But I want to put the question to you. What do we lose if we aren't resurrected? What do we lose? What we lose is victory over the grave. That's what we lose. The Spirit of God and the schemes of Satan, there is a victor. Someone will win, right? This is how wars end. Someone wins. And consequently, someone loses. And so if there's no life beyond the grave, then who wins? Satan wins. He's won. If there's nothing beyond our bodily death that we can look forward to or that we hope in, then what we believe is that Satan has won or will win. That he is more powerful, more sovereign than God. And that is a thoroughly depressing thought, is it not? Each one of us, if we were honest and we had to describe our lives, and remember, we were honest, would talk of difficulty and hardship and regret and things that we wish weren't the way they were.

And we wish that we hadn't done that or thought that or believed that. And there would be good things in there as well. To be honest, there would be both. We would say these were good things and these were the bad things. And what are we to do with the bad things? What are we to do with the painful things? Are we supposed to say, well, that's just the way life is. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. I'm going to try to enjoy it as much as I can. I'm going to ignore the difficulty, the pain, the hardship, the sin of my past. To live and to think this way is to live and to act as though there is no resurrection. That death, when it comes, and when your days are finished and your work is done, that that's it. When you die, there is no more.

And so the life that you live before then, you ought to get as much good stuff or satisfying stuff as you can out of this world because when you die, it's over. These are the consequences of not believing in the resurrection. And if I asked you, who here doesn't believe in the resurrections? I don't know that any of you would say, I don't. But too often, you and I both live as though we don't believe in the resurrection. We live as though we believe that death is the end and that when it comes to us, It's over. And that thought only compounds and further discourages us while we yet live. And so believing in the resurrection is essential. It's the nucleus, it's the core of Christian faith. Because in believing in the resurrection, you acknowledge that this world and your life and you and everything that's around you has been corrupted, has been tainted by sin, and is dying.

But that when it dies, because you believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ and therefore your own resurrection, you say, this is not all that there will be. And all of the pain and all of the misery and all of the brokenness that I have in my own life, that I have in my family, that I have in my past, that I will have in my future, that at some point all of these things that are the result in some way or another of the fall of man into sin will be reconciled. And that even when I die, and even if I die, a difficult, painful death, if my life is cut short, this life is not all we hope in. We don't hope in Jesus Christ only until we die. We hope in Jesus Christ because we know that after we die, we wait. And even then, we wait in hope. Cemeteries, to the extent that they have Christians buried in them, in those cemeteries planted, are waiting in hope of the victory that's promised over the grave that they are now in.

They look forward to the day when they'll be set free from their prison, death, which is the final enemy that Jesus will conquer. And so if we don't believe in the resurrection, what we lose is victory over the grave. And all that means is that we believe that Satan has won or that he will win. He hasn't won yet, but that he will win. And it's an ungodly thought. And it's a discouraging and depressing thought. And it's a thought that's planted in our minds by Satan himself. So what's required to receive this victory? What is required for us not to have everything that I've just said happen? Well, the first thing that has to happen is death. First, there has to be death. You remember at the beginning, I spoke of the relationship between life and death. And I said that death begets life to the Christian. Normally, we consider it the other way around, but our death in this world is not the end. In light of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we see that life...

comes after death. Now, this isn't only true when we physically die. What do we declare? What do we proclaim when we're baptized? When someone is baptized, what they proclaim and declare is their union with Jesus Christ in what? In his death. And they do that while they're still physically alive in here. And they say, I'm united with him in his death. Now, why would you want to be united with Jesus Christ in his death? What benefit is there to be derived from that? Anyone want to venture a guess? You die to sin and consequently live to righteousness. Yes, that's right. That's right. If you go down with him in death, you come up with him in resurrection. And you can't come up with him in resurrection if you don't go down with him in death.

And so we signify our faith in Jesus Christ and in the resurrection that we will receive through baptism, through joining ourselves to him in death. Because we see these things as inextricably connected. That we cannot, because God cannot lie, be joined with Jesus Christ in death and yet be left out of the resurrection that he has enjoyed. If we die with him, we will be raised with him. And so the first thing that's required to receive this victory is death. First in this life, to our sins. And then for all but those who are alive when Jesus returns, our physical death is required. We will die. Each one of us will die. And I don't know when, and I don't know under what circumstance, but each one of us will die. And Scripture tells us to number our days. And what's the end of our days? Well, the end of our days is death.

And so when Paul says at the beginning of our text this morning, behold, I tell you a mystery, we will not all sleep, what he's saying is there are some that will be alive, not us literally physically right here, but there are some that will be alive when Jesus returns. And whether they're alive at his return or they're in the ground at his return, they will all be changed. And they will be changed from perishable seed, mortal seed, to imperishable, to immortal. So what of those who don't believe? Will they be raised from the dead? They will be raised from the dead. When the trumpet sounds, all will come out. Not just the Christian, not just the believer, but all will be raised. And at that point, Jesus will come. Having come in his glory, having come in judgment, he will separate the sheep from the goats. And some he will welcome into his presence, and some he will cast out into eternal damnation.

We have no reason to believe, either from Scripture or from sound reason, that anyone who has died in their rebellion against God will be raised in the manner that Paul speaks of. They will not be no more. They will not be annihilated. They will not be poof and gone. They will be raised. And they will be raised to judgment. And they will be raised to hell. And so for the Christian, what is death? Death is the final vestige of the fall that we will endure. Our bodies will endure. If you were to fly around the world and you were to have a bunch of different legs of your flight, death is the last stop before you get home. It's the final enemy to be conquered, and it will be conquered when Jesus returns. And so until he returns and he calls us home, up out of the grave with the sound of the trumpet, we wait in hope of the resurrection.

The time when we will be changed and given new bodies that will finally match our souls, our redeemed souls. Do you remember in Romans how Paul talks about our flesh and our outward man dying? But what happens to our inward man? He's being made alive. And so you've got this growth like a seed. There's this shell, this husk that's dying, cracking, fading away, deteriorating. And inside of it, life is forming, life is growing, life is multiplying. And that's what we are. And right now our bodies are, for the Christian, our bodies are this dying shell that eventually is going to be shed. And when we're reunited with our bodies, we'll get a body that matches the soul that God's given to us. One that is immortal. Paul says it this way. He says, for the perishable must put on the imperishable. And this mortal must put on immortality.

But when the perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled. At that point, death will be swallowed up in victory. And not before. And so there's a joy, a bittersweet joy that comes at the death of a Christian. It's sad to us because the one who dies, we love. And we miss. And it would be unnatural for us to deny that, right? And yet there's a joy, and the joy comes from us knowing that their immortal soul has now been set free of their mortal body, and they've gone in spirit to dwell with their God. And we don't only hope in that, we hope in the time of them being raised from the dead and being given this new body, this new life. And so the first thing that's required for...

to receive this victory is death. The second thing, as we've begun to talk about, is that Jesus Christ has to return. Death will be swallowed up in victory when he returns, when he comes back. And so for him to return, we understand that he must have gone away. For him to come back to earth, we understand that he must have gone, had to gone away from earth. In John 14, he comforts his disciples with these words. He says, in my father's house are many dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And again, the account of his ascension in Acts 1. After he had said these things to the disciples, he was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received him out of their sight. And as they were gazing intently into the sky while he was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside him.

They also said, And so Christ has gone away. It's necessary for him to, if he's to come back, he must have gone away. And for him to be able to go away, he must have been risen from the dead. What we just read in our scripture reading this morning, the beginning of Matthew 28, we see that after the Sabbath, As it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave, and behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone which sat upon it. And his appearance, the angel's appearance, was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified, but he is not here.

For he has risen, just as he said, come and see the place where he was lying. And in case those, and this was the argument at Corinth, well, that's all just not true. At the beginning of 1 Corinthians 15, Paul says this to them. He says, And that's all well and good, but it's Paul's account. It's his word, right? So they can just say, well, we think you're wrong, Paul. Then he goes on and he says, I'm right, and you know why I'm right? I'm right because a bunch of people saw him. He first appeared to Cephas and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than 500 brethren at one time, most of who remain until now, but some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared to me also.

And what Paul's doing in this, as he's arguing in this way, is saying if you don't believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, you're not a Christian. You can't refuse or deny the resurrection and have any hope in Jesus Christ. I've seen him. Many other people have seen him. He was raised from the dead. He's gone away, and he will return. And that's when we will receive the victory that is promised to us, when he returns. I want to say to you, if you're inclined to sort of tune out, you know, is where we hearse the, well, Jesus died and then he was raised. And if he was raised and they saw him and then he went to heaven, then he's going to come back. Just sort of this timeline, this progression. You go, yeah, yeah, I got that. I know that. I want to ask you, do you not need to be reminded of the things that you profess to believe? Or do you live with them always in the front of your mind? Is there nothing in your life that needs improvement that these truths?

when they're understood thoroughly and implemented fully in your life, might stir you up to greater faith and obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ? Is there no benefit to us to remember and to see the testimony of Scripture that Jesus died just like he said he would, and he was raised just like he said he would, and he went into heaven just like he said he would, and therefore he will come back just like he said he would, and when he comes back, he will set us free from death. Is there no benefit to us from remembering these things? Are we bored with these things? Are we tired with them? Are we hardened toward them? If death will be swallowed up in victory at Jesus' return, how should we be living and preparing for this wonderful day? How should we live? Should we live however we want? Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die. Is that how we should live and prepare for our Lord's return? May it never be.

that we would live in that way. The first thing we ought to do is cry out in thanksgiving to God for saving us. This is what Paul says to us. Can you go to the next slide, Miles? Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord. Our first response to the resurrection of Jesus Christ is thanksgiving. Hearty, full-throated thanksgiving. So one of the ways you can self-evaluate Your knowledge and your implementation of the resurrection of Jesus Christ is, are you thankful? If you're thankful, when are you thankful? And for what are you thankful? If we fail to thank God as we ought, we must conclude that these truths have not been driven deep enough down into our hearts. I was with Levi at a boot store yesterday in Terre Haute, and we picked up a pair of boots, and they were $500.

And I just balked. They're cowboy boots. And I just picked them up because they were 500 bucks, and I'm going, who, who? I don't understand the difference between the $90 one and the $500 one. And I don't know anything about cowboy boots, okay? So I pick them up, and I look at them, and Levi looks at the bottom, and he goes, they're not even well-constructed. Huh? What's that? Well, and what he noticed was that on the sole, there was a nail sticking out, just a little tiny bit. $500 pair of boots and the nail's not driven in. What can we conclude? That whoever made this thing, this boot, didn't understand what it was worth or what it was supposed to be worth. The nail wasn't driven in. For a $500 pair of boots, I expect a person with real eyeballs and real fingers to look over the boot and make sure the nails are driven in. And somewhere in the process of this boot being manufactured, the value of it was lost. And so if we're not thankful as we ought to be,

We must conclude that the value of the resurrection of Jesus Christ is to some extent lost on us. We don't understand it as we ought to. We go, yeah, yeah, I know. I know, and I like reading it, and it's a good time, and it's a happy, you know. But these truths have consequence in our lives. And the first consequence of the resurrection of Jesus Christ is thankfulness. And that thankfulness transcends or sits above. whatever it has going on in your life. And that's a painful or a hard truth, that when the difficulties and the burdens of our lives, the consequences of the fall are rolling over us, unless we dig our heels in and resist them, we will think there is nothing to be thankful for. You might think, I am thankful for these truths, Pastor, and I do want to praise God, and I do sometimes.

But there are many things in my life that weigh me down and distract my heart and my mind from this noble and this joyful duty of praising God for raising his son from the dead. What can we say? What can I say to you except those are the very circumstances where these truths are the most helpful. That when you struggle and when you're hurt and when you're burdened and when you see death right in front of you in your life, this is the time when you ought to be thankful. that that's not the end, not for you, not for your loved one. These are the times when Jesus' resurrection ought to become the sweetest balm to you, and it ought to produce thankfulness in you, even in the midst of the burden. If these truths cannot bring us praise, bring us to praise in the midst of adversity, they will not be remembered when the trial passes. We lie to ourselves and we say, well,

when I have time and when things aren't so difficult, then praise will be more natural. This is the day that the Lord has made each and every day. This is the day that the Lord has made, and we shall rejoice and be glad in it. These truths, Jesus' resurrection and our coming resurrection and freedom from slavery, from bondage, from death, are the truths that bear us through our hardships while we live on this earth. These are the times when we need most to be brought up out of the mire and to see that the burdens that we bear now, the trials that we bear now, whatever it is that's going on, whatever has gone on in the past, however sin has ravaged your life, it will be put down. It will be done away with. So Paul concludes his argument with verse 58. This is the end of the whole discussion of...

The resurrection. It's the so what. Now, since all of this stuff is true, since Jesus has been raised from the dead, and our faith is not in vain, our preaching is not in vain, it's true, we're no longer in our sins, and we are not the men, most of all, to be pitied in this world. Because Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead, and we will be raised with him, how then should we live? We should praise God, and Paul ends by saying this, therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable. Abounding and always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord. This is an exhortation to us. This is the work that's set out before us. Never has there been a Christian truth that's meant to dwell in your mind. It's meant to come out your fingers and your feet. It's not sufficient for you to know something that's true. The way you demonstrate what you know to be true or what you believe to be true is by what you do. And so Paul ends...

His discussion here, his argument, telling us first to be steadfast. At the very beginning of his argument, he alludes to this end, that we would be steadfast. Verses 1 and 2, he says, are to be steadfast in the knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And there is not a thing in our lives that should rise up to the level to cause us to say, you know, I don't know that it's true. I don't know if Jesus was raised from the dead. I don't know if there is victory over the grave. And unless you're fairly robotic or really linear, you probably don't think the way I just spoke. You probably think, oh no.

It's not going to work out. You get all worked up inside. You get all anxious. You get all angry. You get all nervous. You get all depressed. And you go, oh, no, oh, no. And you're all tied up in knots. You are to be steadfast in the knowledge that you have received. What's going on in your life right now does not make the gospel untrue. Our trust in the resurrection of Jesus Christ must not be shaken, no matter what temptations and trials we face. If we waver at this point, if we do not remain steadfast, then we open ourselves up to every temptation that we face while at the same time increasing the attractiveness of it to us. As soon as you go, I don't know if that's true, you've opened yourself up to every temptation that Satan can throw at you, and he will. He will. And so first, you must be steadfast. You cannot waver in your hope and in your trust in the truthfulness.

of the gospel message, no matter what happens in your life. Second, you're to be immovable. Paul adds here to his first exhortation to be steadfast that we would be immovable. Not only that we are to remain steadfast in our hope of the gospel's truthfulness, not that it would just dwell in our minds that, yes, that's true. No matter what may come, that's true. No, we're to be immovable. We're also to... stay ourselves or keep ourselves or stop ourselves on the benefits that are ours through faith. Another way of saying this is that the gospel is true, and if the gospel is true, then its consequences are true. And so if Jesus was dead and buried and raised and ascended to heaven and he will return, then all of the benefits that come from his death and his burial and his resurrection and his ascension and his return, those are true for us. We must be immovable, not only in believing that the gospel is true, but that we will receive the blessing and the benefit of the gospel in our lives that we've taken hold of by faith. To fail to do that is to have believed in vain. And what is it that we must not be moved off of? It's that death will be swallowed up in victory. It's a placeholder, right? It's a heading.

It carries with it all kinds of content underneath it. But we must never be moved off of the consequence, the result of the gospel, that death will be swallowed up in victory. That we will not suffer and be left when it's all said and done. Matthew Henry says on this point, he says, Christians should live in the most firm expectation of a blessed resurrection. This hope should be an anchor to their souls, firm and sure. No matter what storms come in your life, no matter what trials, no matter what temptations, no matter what sins, if by faith you persevere and you follow the Lord Jesus Christ because he's given you that gift, then you have a sure foundation and a confident hope that you'll receive the blessing that he's promised to you. You're to be immovable. So steadfastness and immovability are things that must begin in our head, right?

And I said earlier, what you believe doesn't have all that much importance. It matters what you do. And yet steadfastness and immovability begin, they originate within what we believe, what we understand to be true, what we hope to be true. And yet it has to have some outworking in our life to demonstrate that we believe it. And so Paul ends by saying, you're to abound in the work of the Lord. is obedience to God. Jesus Christ did not come into this world to be comfortable, right? He sat in heaven with his Father in absolute perfection, and he set aside his glory and took on our form and came down here. He did not come here to be comfortable, and if you understand his life and ministry, he was not comfortable while he was here. Foxes have holes and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. His life was a difficult one.

And it ended in a miserable death. And so we ought not to understand that becoming a Christian means that we are being redeemed to be a comfortable people or a popular people. We have been redeemed to become productive people. Productive in his kingdom, doing his will. In Titus chapter 2, Paul writes this. He says, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously, and godly in this present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, to purify for himself a people for his own possession, zealous for good deeds, abounding in the work of the Lord.

That is why Jesus came and bled and died and was raised, so that he would secure for himself a people who were to accomplish his will on this earth. That's why he came. If you're a Christian, that's why you're here. You're here to abound in the work of the Lord. You're here to build his kingdom and to increase his glory in the knowledge of the Lord in this land. That's why you're here. And you do that first through your own obedience. When steadfastness and immovability attend us. When we have those things fixed in our minds, the work of the Lord becomes attractive to us. And I think too often we talk about the difficulty and the hardship and our weakness and our sinfulness. And all of those things are true and there's a place and there's a time to talk about the frailty of our flesh and our inability to do what God requires of us. But in all of Paul's writing in the New Testament,

I recall one place where he talks about it. In Romans 7, he talks about that battle. The rest of the time, he talks about what our obligation is, what our duty is, what our privilege is, what our responsibility is, what our blessing will be when we do it. He spends the vast majority of his time talking about the work we're to do, not the weakness and our inability to do it. And so I want that we would be the same way. That when we're told to abound in the work of the Lord, we wouldn't kind of go, oh, like our alarm clock's going off in the morning, going, I don't want to get up and do that.

No, with steadfastness and immovability, the work of the Lord ought to become attractive to us. I know there are people in this room who like getting up in the morning, who are excited to get up and to do their work, and that we would become like them spiritually, abounding in the work of the Lord, laying aside all of our fears and our arguments against the work. Paul ends by saying that our toil will not be in vain, our work will not be in vain. The things that we believe and the things that we do as a result of what we believe will not be for nothing, will not come to no consequence. And what more do you want to know? That what you give your life to doing won't wash away in the next storm. This is the promise that we have at the end of this chapter. This is the encouragement that we have, is that the work that we do before the Lord and for his glory will remain. That the Lord will see it, that the Lord will bless it, and that he'll be glorified through it.

And what more does a child want than to please their father? What more do we want than to be told, well done. You've done well. I love you. Come here. That's what victory over the grave is going to sound like to those who've abounded in the work of the Lord. And it'll be a sweet day. And so this Resurrection Sunday, I want you to be thankful. I want you to be steadfast. And I want you to be immovable. And I want you to abound in the work of the Lord. That's our response to Jesus' resurrection. That's our response to knowing that we, like him, will be raised. It strengthens us to do his will, to do his work. And I'll tell you, you'll never find more satisfaction than in doing his work. Satan would have you believe that when you give yourself to sin and when you love...

your lusts and you give into them in the moment, that is joy. That is satisfaction. That is as good as it gets. And it's a lie. Fear, worry, anger, laziness, pride. When have they ever made you happy? When have you ever went, yes, I want to do that again. I hope I can feel that again. I hope I can fail like that again. We're to abound in the work of the Lord, knowing that he sees it and that he's glorified by it and he's pleased with it. Let's pray.