WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:21.900 Hi, and welcome to the Willow Ridge Church weekly podcast. 00:00:22.380 --> 00:00:25.500 This is where you can find audio for our current and past sermons. 00:00:25.800 --> 00:00:29.980 We hope that you enjoy this week's installment, and be sure to check back next week to hear 00:00:29.980 --> 00:00:32.080 the latest message. Thanks for listening. 00:00:44.460 --> 00:00:49.700 Good morning. There we go. Glad you guys are here with us. If you've got your Bibles, go 00:00:49.700 --> 00:00:55.900 and open up to 1 Corinthians chapter 15 is where we're going to be today. I want to reiterate 00:00:55.900 --> 00:00:59.960 what you heard in the announcement video about our Easter service. We're excited 00:00:59.960 --> 00:01:03.860 about it. We're excited to see what the Lord's going to do that day. We're excited to celebrate 00:01:03.860 --> 00:01:07.880 the resurrection as a church family. We're excited to do a couple of things differently. 00:01:08.120 --> 00:01:13.440 And so we will have an 8 o'clock, a 10 o'clock service. They'll, for the most part, be identical 00:01:13.440 --> 00:01:17.960 in message and in taking the Lord's Supper together. We got to modify the worship set because 00:01:17.960 --> 00:01:22.960 the 8 o'clock will be outside. The plan will be like we did last year to be in the lower 00:01:22.960 --> 00:01:28.440 level of the parking lot. And so we would love for you, if you want that experience, to come 00:01:28.440 --> 00:01:33.340 and join us for that 8 o'clock service. And then in between the 8 o'clock service and 00:01:33.340 --> 00:01:37.920 the 10 o'clock service at 9, we're going to have a hot breakfast together as a church 00:01:37.920 --> 00:01:42.680 family. It'll be set up during that service. So come early. If you're coming to the 10, 00:01:42.980 --> 00:01:47.820 stay a little bit later, if possible, if you're coming to the 8, so that we can have that time 00:01:47.820 --> 00:01:52.040 together. Now, hopefully also we're going to be taking the Lord's Supper here together. 00:01:52.240 --> 00:01:57.660 Now we're going to do this a little bit differently, right? As the Lord convicts and continues to 00:01:57.660 --> 00:02:03.620 open our eyes based off of our Lord's Supper message that we had not too long ago. And so 00:02:03.620 --> 00:02:07.720 instead of me ending the message and then taking that, I want to, for those of you, like we've 00:02:07.720 --> 00:02:11.800 gotten in a routine, I feel we're doing this, all right? So what we're going to do now is at the 00:02:11.800 --> 00:02:16.200 very end of the service, so I'll preach, I'll pray, the team will come in place, the worship team 00:02:16.200 --> 00:02:21.680 lead us in worship. And then that'll give us an opportunity to respond as the Lord leads to that. 00:02:21.680 --> 00:02:26.200 And then the very last thing we'll do as a church family is take the Lord's Supper together at the 00:02:26.200 --> 00:02:32.520 very end of the service. So you have between now, it's 10.15, I'm going long today. So you've got 00:02:32.520 --> 00:02:37.260 between now and like 11.50 to go ahead and get this and get it taken care of, all right? Sorry, 00:02:37.400 --> 00:02:43.280 kids, ministry. All right, so here we go. In 1 Corinthians, what we're going to look at this 00:02:43.280 --> 00:02:50.560 morning is Paul's drive in a lot of this letter, all right? If I can take it and like put it in a 00:02:50.560 --> 00:02:56.980 little bit of both terms, is this, like because you are saved, you are different. And because you are 00:02:56.980 --> 00:03:02.540 different, you should see things differently, you should act differently, you should respond 00:03:02.540 --> 00:03:07.980 differently. And even at the core of who we are and our feelings, that we should be able to feel 00:03:07.980 --> 00:03:16.300 differently, that the gospel transforms us. And so we begin to look at things, not in the ways of the 00:03:16.300 --> 00:03:23.600 world, but we look at things as those who are followers of Jesus Christ, right? And so some of 00:03:23.600 --> 00:03:27.660 these, not all of them, we don't have time this morning to get to them, but because of this, what 00:03:27.660 --> 00:03:33.280 we've looked at is Paul says, like, think of these things differently because of the gospel. So because 00:03:33.280 --> 00:03:39.700 of the gospel, like when you've been wronged by a brother in Christ, when you've been wronged, like the 00:03:39.700 --> 00:03:47.320 return is not lawsuits, right? Even if you've been wronged, Paul says, it would be better for you to 00:03:47.320 --> 00:03:52.740 be wronged than to do this, right? And so there's the difference of what's there, but because of the 00:03:52.740 --> 00:03:58.820 gospel, even like you approach food differently. In two different sections, Paul talks about meat 00:03:58.820 --> 00:04:03.800 sacrifice to idols and the freedom that we have. Paul says, if it's going to cause another brother 00:04:03.800 --> 00:04:10.020 to stumble, it's better off if we don't eat meat at all, right? Because of the gospel, we're, we're 00:04:10.020 --> 00:04:17.420 different. And Paul continues on and on and on about, here's how we approach things and we approach 00:04:17.420 --> 00:04:22.860 them differently, all right? And so what you and I can do is we can take and we can look at the pieces 00:04:22.860 --> 00:04:29.400 in, in first Corinthians that it draws from this. But let's be honest, there's so many things in our 00:04:29.400 --> 00:04:38.040 life that we approach this way, right? From our finances to who we marry, from how we handle 00:04:38.040 --> 00:04:47.200 conflict with one another to how we handle conflict outside, right? How we approach things, how we view 00:04:47.200 --> 00:04:53.280 things, how we manage things is different and the filter that we're running it through of what we're 00:04:53.280 --> 00:05:00.960 seeking for is the gospel. And so this morning, as we look at chapter 15, and I'll give some, some context 00:05:00.960 --> 00:05:10.940 here in just a second, the topic that I want us to look at this morning is death. And as believers, the, the, 00:05:10.940 --> 00:05:18.480 the colliding that happens with, with death and the gospel. So let's start reading in, in verse 1, 1st 00:05:18.480 --> 00:05:24.920 Corinthians 15. Paul says, now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, 00:05:25.600 --> 00:05:34.340 which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved. If you hold fast to the word 00:05:34.340 --> 00:05:42.660 I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as a first importance what I also 00:05:42.660 --> 00:05:48.460 received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, that he was buried, and that he 00:05:48.460 --> 00:05:54.500 was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to 00:05:54.500 --> 00:06:00.620 the 12, then he appeared to more than 500 brothers at one time, most of whom who were still alive, though 00:06:00.620 --> 00:06:09.440 some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, and then to all the apostles. And last of all, as to one 00:06:09.440 --> 00:06:15.140 ultimately born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, 00:06:15.140 --> 00:06:22.540 because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God, I am what I am, and his grace toward me 00:06:22.540 --> 00:06:28.360 was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace 00:06:28.360 --> 00:06:35.020 of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we preached and so you believed. Now, if Christ 00:06:35.020 --> 00:06:42.560 is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? But if 00:06:42.560 --> 00:06:48.440 there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. But if Christ has not been 00:06:48.440 --> 00:06:53.540 raised, then our preaching is in vain, and your faith is in vain. And we are even found to be 00:06:53.540 --> 00:07:01.020 misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise, if it is 00:07:01.020 --> 00:07:08.320 true, that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 00:07:09.040 --> 00:07:15.120 And we'll pause here for now. Here's a little sneak peek. This is the passage that we're going to look at 00:07:15.120 --> 00:07:20.880 at Easter morning. And as we look at this at Easter morning, what Paul wants the Corinthian church to 00:07:20.880 --> 00:07:26.420 have a proper understanding and application of the resurrection of Jesus, right? That Christ died, 00:07:26.420 --> 00:07:32.660 Christ buried, and he was resurrected. And the truth of that, of where we find our hope, but where we live 00:07:32.660 --> 00:07:38.720 in hope on a daily basis for the resurrection, because of the resurrection of Christ. Now, this week, 00:07:38.760 --> 00:07:45.000 as I was reading through this, there was something that just kept sticking out to me. There's a piece 00:07:45.000 --> 00:07:51.440 that's like, well, we can lock in on resurrection, but we're going to do that. And resurrection proclaimed 00:07:51.440 --> 00:07:57.420 every Sunday is sufficient and good. But there's this piece that's there that continued to draw 00:07:57.420 --> 00:08:06.740 out. And so as I read through all of chapter 15, in the 49 verses that are there, as I begin to 00:08:06.740 --> 00:08:19.180 highlight on my paper, the scripture, what I found was 29 different times the word or the concept of death 00:08:19.180 --> 00:08:24.000 is mentioned. Now, a little Bible study tool was taught this years ago, walked through this with 00:08:24.000 --> 00:08:29.540 the Colossians class that I led last semester. And I say this, like, when you're reading scripture 00:08:29.540 --> 00:08:36.780 and you see a word or a phrase continually repeated, pause and ask yourself why. This is an important 00:08:36.780 --> 00:08:45.180 piece for Paul. And Paul is using death in reference to the resurrection. But what I want to do this 00:08:45.180 --> 00:08:52.860 morning is pause and have the emphasis be on death. I read this this week and I thought it was painfully 00:08:52.860 --> 00:09:01.100 true. An author said this, death is something no one wants to talk about, but everyone thinks about 00:09:01.100 --> 00:09:03.720 and everyone has experienced. 00:09:05.660 --> 00:09:13.900 As a pastor, there's no greater question or moment of vulnerability than when someone is walking 00:09:13.900 --> 00:09:23.740 through, has walked through, or in living in the reality of death in their own life or in the life of 00:09:23.740 --> 00:09:37.500 someone close to them. I've performed the service of small children up to senior adults. 00:09:39.900 --> 00:09:48.860 I've walked through a family where they knew that death was coming and they still felt the shocks of pain as it 00:09:48.860 --> 00:09:56.860 approached. I walked with families who woke up one morning thinking everything would be fine just like every other 00:09:56.860 --> 00:10:05.580 day. And then a moment of unexpected tragedy hit and they were left to pick up the pieces because death 00:10:06.140 --> 00:10:14.780 invaded their home. But the beauty of the hope that we have in Christ is the gospel 00:10:14.780 --> 00:10:19.900 the gospel causes me to view death through the lens of the gospel. 00:10:21.180 --> 00:10:28.380 And so we could talk for hours, days, and weeks about death. 00:10:29.660 --> 00:10:38.380 But as I've sat down with families, and as I've even wrestled within my own life, the reality of death, 00:10:39.420 --> 00:10:46.380 I believe that we can draw some truths from scripture that will bring both reality through the gospel, 00:10:47.340 --> 00:10:51.020 but also remind us of the hope that we have in the gospel. 00:10:52.380 --> 00:10:57.500 So this morning I just want to take through, I'm going to tell you this, we're going to be literally 00:10:58.060 --> 00:11:04.460 all over the place, all right? So don't try to keep up turning in your Bible, just jump on the screen. 00:11:04.700 --> 00:11:09.180 You can write down references and we'll go from there. The first thing that I want us to see, 00:11:09.180 --> 00:11:13.740 and this is probably the duh moment, but for us to begin to wrap our minds around is this: 00:11:13.740 --> 00:11:21.660 death is promised. All right, death is promised. Hebrews 9:27, "And just as it appointed for man 00:11:21.660 --> 00:11:29.580 to die once, and after that comes judgment." 1 Corinthians 15:22, a little bit later on in the 00:11:29.580 --> 00:11:36.860 chapter here it says, "For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive again." 00:11:38.220 --> 00:11:43.980 Paul also writes in Romans 5:12, "Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, 00:11:43.980 --> 00:11:50.700 and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned." And so what we see 00:11:50.700 --> 00:11:57.740 continually throughout scripture is the promise, is the reminder that in short of Jesus coming back, 00:11:58.460 --> 00:12:04.620 at some point in time and in your life and in the life of those around you, death is going to strike. 00:12:05.580 --> 00:12:13.900 Death is going to be a physical reality for us. Whether it's an outdoor celebration service or 00:12:13.900 --> 00:12:21.740 traditional service in a funeral home chapel or in a church, death is all too of a reality. But 00:12:21.740 --> 00:12:28.220 balanced within scripture, what we walk through is this dynamic of not just the physical death that we 00:12:28.220 --> 00:12:35.340 face, but the spiritual death that plagues humanity and of what we see. And we see this in 1 00:12:35.340 --> 00:12:42.620 Corinthians 15, "For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall be made alive." Romans 5:12 again, 00:12:42.620 --> 00:12:47.980 "Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, so death spread to 00:12:47.980 --> 00:12:54.940 all men because of sin." And so what we see is this spiritual death that's due to sin that we're born 00:12:54.940 --> 00:13:05.100 into, and it's why we're born and our sin and our trespasses, and we're dead, and then we are what? Made alive in Christ. It's what we 00:13:05.100 --> 00:13:12.380 celebrate in baptism. The picture and imagery of a person who was dead because of their sin and is 00:13:12.380 --> 00:13:19.260 dying to their sin and is raised in the newness of life in Christ to walk in the newness of life, to walk in 00:13:19.260 --> 00:13:28.640 this spiritual life that's promised in him. The experience of life in Christ now. The spiritual 00:13:28.640 --> 00:13:33.720 death that separates us from God and because of the work of Christ, the life that we find in him. 00:13:34.920 --> 00:13:43.240 But because of this, this spiritual life in Christ does not free us from the earthly physical death 00:13:43.240 --> 00:13:53.020 that we face. So that would spark within us the need of Christ and the urgency to share. 00:13:57.100 --> 00:14:04.740 Excuse me, my grandmother passed away. My brain's all mixed up because of the times, but about a year, 00:14:04.740 --> 00:14:13.200 a little over a year ago, and we were able to watch death take over her body. 00:14:14.120 --> 00:14:21.000 We were able to watch her walk through it as a believer. We were able to see that and experience 00:14:21.000 --> 00:14:27.400 that, right? And to see what the Lord was doing. We were able to see the passing of the lady who I 00:14:27.400 --> 00:14:31.800 would say to any of you had the strongest faith of anyone that I've ever had the privilege of being 00:14:31.800 --> 00:14:40.040 around, but yet she could not avoid death even as we see it coming, but also those who do not. 00:14:41.420 --> 00:14:47.860 I want to share this story in sensitivity because this is what I feel like those of us we hear about, 00:14:47.960 --> 00:14:55.880 but we don't realize. Nine years ago when Aaron and I moved up here, and the kids moved with us too, 00:14:55.960 --> 00:15:01.900 when we moved up here, we still owned our house in Aiken and we had a hard time selling it, and so 00:15:01.900 --> 00:15:07.880 we put our house up for rent. And the Lord worked out something pretty cool. There was a pastor from Aiken, 00:15:07.880 --> 00:15:15.160 me moving up to the Columbia area to minister at a church, and there was a pastor in Columbia that was 00:15:15.160 --> 00:15:20.160 moving to Aiken to minister at a church, and so somehow I didn't know him, but he had heard about 00:15:20.160 --> 00:15:24.680 me coming up here from someone else, a mutual friend, and so he reached out to me and was like, 00:15:24.740 --> 00:15:30.280 hey, my wife and I, as we kind of get our feet set and get settled here in Aiken with our young 00:15:30.280 --> 00:15:35.080 family, we'd like to rent your house. And I was like, hey man, that would be fantastic. You want to set an 00:15:35.080 --> 00:15:38.380 appointment to come by and look at it and see? He's like, no, we're good. We'll just take it. 00:15:38.480 --> 00:15:42.940 What do you want for it? And I was like, man, this is fantastic. And I way undershot what we should 00:15:42.940 --> 00:15:47.260 have done, right? But that's what we felt like the Lord was calling us to do. And so they moved into 00:15:47.260 --> 00:15:54.420 our house and then we moved up here. And then I met him. I met him. And like, you ever meet somebody 00:15:54.420 --> 00:16:01.220 and instantly you know, like, you beat me in a race or a fight, right? Like, there's just that level 00:16:01.220 --> 00:16:07.400 of physical fitness within them that you can look at and that you can tell this. And so I met Chris and 00:16:07.400 --> 00:16:11.480 it was, it was just that. It was like, yep, yep, this is who you are, man. Nice to meet you. We hung 00:16:11.480 --> 00:16:17.020 out a few times and, and they were in our house and we were up here and, and, and, and life was going 00:16:17.020 --> 00:16:21.500 well for them and life was going well for us. And, and we're walking through that. And then I get a phone 00:16:21.500 --> 00:16:31.060 call one day and I get a phone call from, from a fellow pastor friend and he said, I just needed 00:16:31.060 --> 00:16:47.460 to, to let you know that Chris died this morning. And I said, do what? I mean, younger than me at the 00:16:47.460 --> 00:16:55.980 time, right? Better physical condition than me at the time. And so immediately I went like, was it a car 00:16:55.980 --> 00:17:03.620 wreck? Like what in the world happened? And he said, Bo is the craziest thing. He said, we were out 00:17:03.620 --> 00:17:12.440 playing ultimate Frisbee and he got the Frisbee to throw it. And as he threw and released, he was trying 00:17:12.440 --> 00:17:19.840 to throw it as hard as he can. He strained, right? And an artery in his heart ruptured. 00:17:22.340 --> 00:17:33.540 And before he hit the ground, he was dead, right? Godly man leading his family, 00:17:35.220 --> 00:17:46.420 loving the Lord, right? Loving the Lord, leading the church, and he couldn't escape death, the physical 00:17:46.420 --> 00:17:57.700 death, right? I hope we all live to the ripe old age, right? But the truth is we're not promised 00:17:57.700 --> 00:18:06.860 that. We're not promised. We say we're not promised tomorrow, but the reality is we're not promised the 00:18:06.860 --> 00:18:16.540 next moment. And as believers, right, that should drive our hearts with urgency for the gospel 00:18:16.540 --> 00:18:24.400 because it's Christ and Christ alone. Also through the gospel, what I want us to see how the gospel 00:18:24.400 --> 00:18:29.300 causes us to view death is that we view it through and understand God's compassion. 00:18:30.460 --> 00:18:38.040 We've heard the story in John chapter 11 of time and time again of Jesus and the death of his friend 00:18:38.040 --> 00:18:45.180 Lazarus. It's a story that I've read so many times and heard so many times that I'll be honest with 00:18:45.180 --> 00:18:48.680 you. When I went back and read it this week, I couldn't remember the last time I'd read it because 00:18:48.680 --> 00:18:53.660 of so many times of remembering it. But I went back and there was a couple of verses that stuck out to me. 00:18:53.660 --> 00:19:02.340 John 11 started in verse 33. It says this, that when Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come 00:19:02.340 --> 00:19:13.860 also, come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. And he said, 00:19:14.180 --> 00:19:22.500 where have you laid him? And they said to him, Lord, come and see. And then those two words, 00:19:22.920 --> 00:19:31.600 Jesus wept. And the beauty that is in this passage of what we see in the divinity of God 00:19:31.600 --> 00:19:40.280 Jesus wept. And the truth is in the divinity of God. And the truth is in this passage of what it is in the 00:19:40.280 --> 00:19:54.960 And in that moment of the king of kings and the king of kings and the Lord of lords, what began to happen in the news and the 00:19:54.960 --> 00:20:03.800 reality of this friend Lazarus is that Jesus wept. There's a grieving that began to move and take place. But not only that, 00:20:03.800 --> 00:20:12.480 not only that, not only that, what I just love from this and read and thought about this so much this week was 00:20:12.480 --> 00:20:21.160 It was Jesus' compassion to Lazarus' sister Mary. When Jesus saw her weeping. 00:20:21.160 --> 00:20:26.160 He was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. 00:20:26.160 --> 00:20:34.840 One of the things we've been talking about in here, it feels like for years, is the understanding of what scripture has from us, to take on the burdens 00:20:34.840 --> 00:20:42.740 Of one another, to weep with those who weep, rejoice with those who rejoice. And what we see is in the heart of our Savior, 00:20:43.840 --> 00:20:52.520 When she began to weep, when she began to weep, the spirit of who he was began to be moved in compassion that's filled. 00:20:52.520 --> 00:21:09.840 What I love about that is the reminder as we walk through the process of death in our life, and in those around us, we do not have a God that is so set apart from us that he doesn't understand what we're going through. 00:21:09.840 --> 00:21:10.840 That he has a heart that understands that he doesn't understand what we're going through. 00:21:10.840 --> 00:21:17.840 That he has a heart that understands feeling loss, and that he has a heart that understands compassion. 00:21:17.840 --> 00:21:35.840 And then in Revelation, continuing to see the compassion of God, Revelation 21:4, says he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more. 00:21:35.840 --> 00:21:45.840 Neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. 00:21:45.840 --> 00:22:02.840 I wrote these words, simple words, but in eternity he solves it. He solves it. In the removal of sin, the removal of death. 00:22:02.840 --> 00:22:08.840 And it shall be no more. 00:22:08.840 --> 00:22:12.840 Canceled, done away with. 00:22:12.840 --> 00:22:22.840 No more thought through that, no more grieving through that, no more crying, no more pain, for the former things has passed away. 00:22:22.840 --> 00:22:30.840 As he talks about the new eternity, the new heaven, the new earth, and what is waiting for us, and what is there. 00:22:30.840 --> 00:22:40.840 He says, look, look, this that's there that you've faced, this that's there that you've endured, this that's there that you've battled through with this, it's gone. 00:22:40.840 --> 00:22:42.840 It's gone. 00:22:42.840 --> 00:22:46.840 And in eternity he solves it. 00:22:46.840 --> 00:22:48.840 In eternity he solves it. 00:22:48.840 --> 00:22:52.840 God says, I'll remove this from you, right? 00:22:52.840 --> 00:23:02.840 Well, in this passage of scripture that we see, in light of what we're even talking about coming up in a couple of weeks here with Easter. 00:23:02.840 --> 00:23:12.840 And in this passage, a lot of the conversation around the resurrection is because Jesus died and you believe that he was raised again. 00:23:12.840 --> 00:23:17.840 And so what I want us to look at this morning is just simply why Jesus died. 00:23:17.840 --> 00:23:19.840 Why Jesus died. 00:23:19.840 --> 00:23:22.840 That in death, the beauty of what God's doing. 00:23:22.840 --> 00:23:26.840 And the beauty of what we see as a tragedy. 00:23:26.840 --> 00:23:28.840 What is the reminder of the hope? 00:23:28.840 --> 00:23:30.840 Why is this essential? 00:23:30.840 --> 00:23:32.840 Why can this not be removed from the story? 00:23:32.840 --> 00:23:37.840 Why couldn't Jesus just show up, say, you're good, you're good, you're good, I'm out, right? 00:23:37.840 --> 00:23:39.840 Like, that's not what happened. 00:23:39.840 --> 00:23:49.840 He came, he lived, he died, he was buried, he rose again, he walked around, interacted some more, and then he ascended. 00:23:49.840 --> 00:23:54.840 That's the story shrunk down in Christ right there in this moment, right? 00:23:54.840 --> 00:23:57.840 But why did Jesus have to die? 00:23:57.840 --> 00:24:02.840 Now this isn't a full explanation, but when we're sitting here and we're working through, 00:24:02.840 --> 00:24:07.840 these are the things that redirects my brain of understanding the impact in the life of Christ. 00:24:07.840 --> 00:24:14.840 Number one, why Jesus died is because sin demands a punishment, and sin demands God's wrath. 00:24:14.840 --> 00:24:23.840 Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." 00:24:23.840 --> 00:24:29.840 So when sin entered into the world, what it brought with it was death. 00:24:29.840 --> 00:24:38.840 That's the reward of sin, the punishment of sin. 00:24:38.840 --> 00:24:46.840 And God in His holiness cannot look at sin and say, "No, that's not a big deal." 00:24:46.840 --> 00:24:52.840 God in His holiness can't look at sin and go, "No, we'll just sweep it away." 00:24:52.840 --> 00:25:00.840 Because God in His perfected holiness, God in His justice says, "No, there's been an offense." 00:25:00.840 --> 00:25:04.840 And the offense that's there, it deserves a punishment. 00:25:04.840 --> 00:25:11.840 The offense that's there deserves my wrath, and it will happen, is what He promises us. 00:25:11.840 --> 00:25:23.840 And so in death, Jesus comes to die because sin demands a punishment and wrath, and so what God does is God promises a Savior. 00:25:23.840 --> 00:25:32.840 All the way back to when sin entered in, in Genesis 3, and spoken all through the Old Testament. 00:25:32.840 --> 00:25:38.840 All through what John the Baptist proclaims about Christ, and the coming of the Savior. 00:25:38.840 --> 00:25:42.840 All pointing to who Jesus is. 00:25:42.840 --> 00:25:47.840 Because for all of us in Christ, our punishment was taken on by Christ. 00:25:47.840 --> 00:25:54.840 And the wrath of God not poured onto us, but poured out onto Jesus. 00:25:54.840 --> 00:25:59.840 And one of the best passages of Scripture in this is Isaiah 53. 00:25:59.840 --> 00:26:05.840 The reminder that Christ would come, and that Christ would die. 00:26:05.840 --> 00:26:12.840 But also what God does, is He tells us in His faithfulness what this would be like. 00:26:12.840 --> 00:26:16.840 He tells us that Christ would be rejected. 00:26:16.840 --> 00:26:22.840 And leading up to Easter, I hope you've got a plan, and you're reading through that week of seeing. 00:26:22.840 --> 00:26:29.840 But what you'll see, and what you'll notice, and hopefully what you've noticed, was that continually those who should be waiting for the Messiah, 00:26:29.840 --> 00:26:34.840 those who should be expecting the Messiah, reject the Messiah. 00:26:34.840 --> 00:26:35.840 And He'd be rejected. 00:26:35.840 --> 00:26:44.840 Isaiah 53:3 says, "He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. 00:26:44.840 --> 00:26:52.840 And as of one from whom men hide their faces, He was despised, and we esteemed Him not." 00:26:52.840 --> 00:26:57.840 It says not only is the Savior coming, but then here's what He will even face. 00:26:57.840 --> 00:27:03.840 God tells us in His Word about this Savior that He will be a substitutionary sacrifice. 00:27:03.840 --> 00:27:08.840 That He will be innocent, but yet He will stand in our place. 00:27:08.840 --> 00:27:12.840 That He will be the one to receive the sacrifice. 00:27:12.840 --> 00:27:18.840 In Isaiah 53:5-8, "But He was pierced for what? Our transgressions. 00:27:18.840 --> 00:27:22.840 He was crushed for our iniquities. 00:27:22.840 --> 00:27:26.840 Upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace. 00:27:26.840 --> 00:27:29.840 And with His wounds we are healed. 00:27:29.840 --> 00:27:32.840 All we like sheep have gone astray. 00:27:32.840 --> 00:27:35.840 We have turned everyone to His own way. 00:27:35.840 --> 00:27:39.840 And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. 00:27:39.840 --> 00:27:42.840 He was oppressed and He was afflicted. 00:27:42.840 --> 00:27:46.840 He opened not His mouth like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, 00:27:46.840 --> 00:27:50.840 and like a sheep that before it shears is silent. 00:27:50.840 --> 00:27:52.840 So He opened not His mouth. 00:27:52.840 --> 00:27:55.840 By oppression and judgment He was taken away. 00:27:55.840 --> 00:28:02.840 And as for His generation who considered that He was cut out of the land of the living, 00:28:02.840 --> 00:28:06.840 stricken for the transgression of my people." 00:28:06.840 --> 00:28:09.840 He came not to pay the punishment of His, 00:28:09.840 --> 00:28:13.840 but in death He paid the punishment for ours. 00:28:13.840 --> 00:28:21.840 It's why we as believers will acknowledge and take this in a little while after service. 00:28:21.840 --> 00:28:25.840 It's why we'll be reminded of the price that was paid, 00:28:25.840 --> 00:28:32.840 of what we deserved, but of what He took in our place. 00:28:32.840 --> 00:28:37.840 Scripture also tells us that in His death He will be silent. 00:28:37.840 --> 00:28:39.840 Look back at verse 7. 00:28:39.840 --> 00:28:45.840 "He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth." 00:28:45.840 --> 00:28:57.840 As innocence stood, He chose to take on the will of the Father in place for us. 00:28:57.840 --> 00:29:01.840 And then I love this little detail. 00:29:01.840 --> 00:29:06.840 Because this is all throughout Scripture, multiple times that you see this. 00:29:06.840 --> 00:29:13.840 Where God gives us, in the Old Testament, these snippets and pieces about who Christ is, 00:29:13.840 --> 00:29:18.840 that point to who He tells us about is truly Jesus. 00:29:18.840 --> 00:29:23.840 And if we come at this with an intellect, with facing this, that we can't deny this. 00:29:23.840 --> 00:29:25.840 In verse 9 of Isaiah 53. 00:29:25.840 --> 00:29:27.840 This one tells us that He was buried with the rich. 00:29:27.840 --> 00:29:33.840 "And they made His grave with the wicked and with a rich man in His death, 00:29:33.840 --> 00:29:38.840 although He had done no violence and there was no deceit in His mouth." 00:29:38.840 --> 00:29:44.840 Well, in Matthew 27, starting in verse 57, it tells us that there was a man named Joseph of Arimathea who was wealthy. 00:29:44.840 --> 00:29:50.840 And following the death of Jesus, he went to Pilate, asked for the body of Jesus, prepared it, wrapped it, 00:29:50.840 --> 00:29:53.840 put it in the tomb, in His tomb, in a new tomb. 00:29:53.840 --> 00:29:58.840 And so what we see are these instances where it could be insignificant to some, 00:29:58.840 --> 00:30:00.840 but it's God saying, "Watch this. 00:30:00.840 --> 00:30:06.840 You can't line this up, but watch how the holiness of God takes care of all of this." 00:30:06.840 --> 00:30:08.840 Of what we see. 00:30:08.840 --> 00:30:11.840 And so Christ came to die. 00:30:11.840 --> 00:30:16.840 But Christ also came to die to show God's love for us. 00:30:16.840 --> 00:30:21.840 Romans 5:8, "God shows His love for us in this, 00:30:21.840 --> 00:30:27.840 that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." 00:30:27.840 --> 00:30:30.840 This may be one of my favorite verses in Scripture, 00:30:30.840 --> 00:30:33.840 because it says, "While we were still sinners." 00:30:33.840 --> 00:30:40.840 God knew everything you and I would do before coming to Christ. 00:30:41.840 --> 00:30:46.840 He knew every sin, every mess-up, every failure. 00:30:46.840 --> 00:30:49.840 He knew every poor decision. 00:30:49.840 --> 00:30:51.840 He knew every piece of hurt. 00:30:51.840 --> 00:30:53.840 He knew it all. 00:30:53.840 --> 00:30:55.840 And He still sent Jesus. 00:30:55.840 --> 00:31:01.840 And then in the fullness of it, not only did He know everything we would do before, but guess what? 00:31:01.840 --> 00:31:03.840 He knew everything we would do after. 00:31:03.840 --> 00:31:11.840 And I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure all of us in here can say amen to the reality that we had sin, 00:31:11.840 --> 00:31:15.840 and we got saved, and we still got our struggles today, right? 00:31:15.840 --> 00:31:20.840 And He knew every single one. 00:31:20.840 --> 00:31:28.840 And still in His grace and His compassion, He chose to send Christ to die for you and for me. 00:31:28.840 --> 00:31:34.840 You see, the truth of the gospel is, it's not that we weren't just not deserving before Christ. 00:31:34.840 --> 00:31:37.840 It's that we're still not deserving now. 00:31:39.840 --> 00:31:41.840 Done nothing to deserve it. 00:31:42.840 --> 00:31:45.840 But yet, He still sent Christ. 00:31:45.840 --> 00:31:52.840 God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 00:31:53.840 --> 00:31:58.840 So based off of all of this, death is promised. 00:31:59.840 --> 00:32:08.840 Based off of all this, that God sent Christ to die for us, of what His death does and what His death brings, 00:32:08.840 --> 00:32:11.840 how do we as believers face death? 00:32:12.840 --> 00:32:14.840 How do we as believers face death? 00:32:14.840 --> 00:32:19.840 I just want to reiterate really quickly one of the things that I just previously said. 00:32:19.840 --> 00:32:23.840 We grieve, all right? 00:32:23.840 --> 00:32:31.840 This is not some message where you are supposed to respond to death in that it's no big deal. 00:32:32.840 --> 00:32:34.840 That we just wipe it away and we move on from it. 00:32:35.840 --> 00:32:37.840 That's not what we see. 00:32:37.840 --> 00:32:39.840 That's not what we experience. 00:32:40.840 --> 00:32:41.840 That's not what we do. 00:32:41.840 --> 00:32:42.840 We weep. 00:32:42.840 --> 00:32:43.840 We mourn. 00:32:43.840 --> 00:32:44.840 We grieve. 00:32:45.840 --> 00:32:50.840 But there'll be a difference in us because of the hope that we have in the gospel. 00:32:50.840 --> 00:32:52.840 And number one is this. 00:32:53.840 --> 00:32:55.840 We face death with hope. 00:32:56.840 --> 00:32:57.840 We face death with hope. 00:32:57.840 --> 00:33:02.840 Now, I don't care if it's your death or your grandma's death. 00:33:03.840 --> 00:33:06.840 We face death with hope. 00:33:06.840 --> 00:33:09.840 1 Thessalonians 4:13 says, 00:33:09.840 --> 00:33:14.840 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, 00:33:14.840 --> 00:33:20.840 that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 00:33:21.840 --> 00:33:24.840 Paul's saying here, it's not that we don't grieve. 00:33:24.840 --> 00:33:25.840 We do. 00:33:26.840 --> 00:33:27.840 But we grieve differently. 00:33:28.840 --> 00:33:31.840 You may sit in a room and see the same thing. 00:33:31.840 --> 00:33:33.840 You may see the tears that are there. 00:33:34.840 --> 00:33:36.840 Both of us may need grief counseling. 00:33:37.840 --> 00:33:39.840 Both of us may need to walk through a process. 00:33:40.840 --> 00:33:43.840 Both of us are going to have good days and bad days. 00:33:43.840 --> 00:33:50.840 But the difference is that we grieve under the umbrella of hope that we have life beyond this world. 00:33:51.840 --> 00:33:52.840 That we have life beyond this. 00:33:52.840 --> 00:33:54.840 That we have life in Christ. 00:33:55.840 --> 00:34:02.840 And so we face death with hope and the reminder of who Jesus is and a life that's found in him. 00:34:03.840 --> 00:34:08.840 But we also look for even more with the reality of what this hope will bring. 00:34:09.840 --> 00:34:12.840 Jesus on the cross, remember, hung in between two thieves. 00:34:13.840 --> 00:34:16.840 One thief who mocks and one thief who comes to Christ. 00:34:17.840 --> 00:34:20.840 And the thief that comes to Christ says, "Jesus, don't forget me." 00:34:23.840 --> 00:34:33.840 And Jesus says to him, "Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise." 00:34:34.840 --> 00:34:35.840 Paradise. 00:34:36.840 --> 00:34:39.840 I don't know about you, but I've been to some nice places. 00:34:40.840 --> 00:34:42.840 I've never experienced paradise. 00:34:43.840 --> 00:34:44.840 Right? 00:34:45.840 --> 00:34:49.840 Where we typically think about places with paradise, somehow I still end up with a really bad sunburn. 00:34:49.840 --> 00:34:50.840 You know what I mean? 00:34:52.840 --> 00:34:53.840 Places that are there. 00:34:54.840 --> 00:35:00.840 But Jesus, through what we see, describes a place that's different. 00:35:01.840 --> 00:35:03.840 To the man that's hanging beside him. 00:35:05.840 --> 00:35:09.840 The reality of whatever brought him to the choices he made in life are gone. 00:35:11.840 --> 00:35:15.840 What he's experienced in the pain of that moment will be removed from him. 00:35:16.840 --> 00:35:21.840 And what he has is the hope that's in Jesus and in him alone. 00:35:22.840 --> 00:35:27.840 Another way that we face death through the gospel is we understand this. 00:35:28.840 --> 00:35:30.840 God uses death. 00:35:31.840 --> 00:35:31.840 All right? 00:35:32.840 --> 00:35:33.840 God uses death. 00:35:34.840 --> 00:35:35.840 And God is going to use death in many, many ways. 00:35:36.840 --> 00:35:39.840 Really importantly, God uses death to grow our faith. 00:35:40.840 --> 00:35:41.840 All right? 00:35:42.840 --> 00:35:44.840 Paul says in 2 Corinthians 1, 00:35:45.840 --> 00:35:50.840 "For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we have experienced in Asia. 00:35:51.840 --> 00:35:57.840 For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. 00:35:58.840 --> 00:36:01.840 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. 00:36:02.840 --> 00:36:10.840 But that was to make us rely not on ourselves, but on God who raises the dead." 00:36:11.840 --> 00:36:12.840 Right? 00:36:13.840 --> 00:36:14.840 So Paul says like, "We've gone through what we've experienced." 00:36:15.840 --> 00:36:18.840 It is a burden beyond what our strength can get through. 00:36:19.840 --> 00:36:24.840 To realize that we've experienced the sentence of death is more than what we can fathom. 00:36:25.840 --> 00:36:28.840 But in this, God was doing something in this. 00:36:28.840 --> 00:36:32.840 That God, when this was pronounced on us, when this is the reality that we would face, 00:36:33.840 --> 00:36:36.840 what God does and what God's doing in that is to say, 00:36:37.840 --> 00:36:39.840 "No, no, no, no. You're going to press more and more into me." 00:36:40.840 --> 00:36:42.840 Because in your circumstances, there is no hope. 00:36:43.840 --> 00:36:45.840 In your circumstances, here's what the outcome will be. 00:36:46.840 --> 00:36:49.840 But death causes us to lean in, rely on God more. 00:36:50.840 --> 00:36:53.840 Here's the tension. Here's the danger for us in this. 00:36:54.840 --> 00:36:57.840 It's for some of us, when bitterness begins to creep into our heart, 00:36:58.840 --> 00:36:59.840 because death isn't something we want to talk about. 00:37:00.840 --> 00:37:01.840 Death isn't something we want to face. 00:37:02.840 --> 00:37:04.840 Is that when we do face it, the tendency is to push away from God. 00:37:05.840 --> 00:37:07.840 The tendency is to run away from God. 00:37:08.840 --> 00:37:09.840 And God says, "No, no, no, no, no. 00:37:10.840 --> 00:37:12.840 When you get that news about your kid, when you get that news about your wife, 00:37:13.840 --> 00:37:15.840 when you get that news about your grandma, about your best friend, 00:37:16.840 --> 00:37:19.840 what you do is you press in, rely on me more. 00:37:20.840 --> 00:37:22.840 And in that, as you grieve and as you go, 00:37:23.840 --> 00:37:28.840 I will bring you into a deeper sense of faith than you've experienced before." 00:37:29.840 --> 00:37:34.840 And that's the beauty of the gospel. 00:37:35.840 --> 00:37:36.840 That's what God works in. 00:37:37.840 --> 00:37:38.840 That's what God does. 00:37:39.840 --> 00:37:43.840 But God also uses death for the gain of glory. 00:37:44.840 --> 00:37:46.840 2 Thessalonians 1:10. 00:37:47.840 --> 00:37:51.840 When he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, 00:37:52.840 --> 00:37:55.840 and to be marveled among all who have believed, 00:37:56.840 --> 00:37:59.840 because of our testimony to you was believed. 00:38:00.840 --> 00:38:08.840 In death, we will experience a special kind of glory that we haven't experienced before. 00:38:09.840 --> 00:38:10.840 In full circle. 00:38:12.840 --> 00:38:16.840 Not to those who are not in Christ, is what the verse before it tells us. 00:38:17.840 --> 00:38:21.840 But only those who are in Christ. 00:38:22.840 --> 00:38:23.840 It's what we get to experience. 00:38:24.840 --> 00:38:25.840 It's what we see. 00:38:26.840 --> 00:38:27.840 Right? 00:38:28.840 --> 00:38:29.840 1 Peter 3:18. 00:38:30.840 --> 00:38:36.840 We're going to see that God uses death so we can have eternal fellowship. 00:38:37.840 --> 00:38:41.840 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, 00:38:42.840 --> 00:38:49.840 that he might bring us to God, being put to death in flesh, made alive in the Spirit. 00:38:50.840 --> 00:38:52.840 It's only possible through Christ and Christ alone. 00:38:53.840 --> 00:39:00.840 This isn't a world of realistic hope that can be found in things like universalism. 00:39:01.840 --> 00:39:06.840 It isn't believe what you believe, I believe what I believe, and God honors both. 00:39:07.840 --> 00:39:09.840 That's not what the gospel tells us. 00:39:10.840 --> 00:39:15.840 The gospel doesn't tell us, "Go and fight, go and earn, go and become, go and do, 00:39:16.840 --> 00:39:18.840 because in this you'll have earned your way." 00:39:18.840 --> 00:39:20.840 That's not at all what the gospel tells us. 00:39:21.840 --> 00:39:25.840 The gospel tells us, "For Christ also suffered once for sins, 00:39:26.840 --> 00:39:30.840 the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God." 00:39:31.840 --> 00:39:33.840 Are you Jesus? Am I Jesus? No. 00:39:34.840 --> 00:39:36.840 And neither is Muhammad, 00:39:37.840 --> 00:39:39.840 and neither is any other God, 00:39:40.840 --> 00:39:41.840 and neither is any other prophet, 00:39:42.840 --> 00:39:43.840 and neither is any other teacher. 00:39:44.840 --> 00:39:45.840 It's through Christ and through Christ alone, 00:39:46.840 --> 00:39:50.840 and that in his death in the flesh, but made alive in the Spirit. 00:39:51.840 --> 00:39:55.840 It's only possible through Christ and Christ alone. 00:39:56.840 --> 00:40:00.840 And then the beauty in the parable in which Jesus is teaching in Matthew 25. 00:40:01.840 --> 00:40:06.840 There will be those on the left that he'll dismiss into eternal punishment. 00:40:07.840 --> 00:40:10.840 Verse 34 says, "Then the king will say to those on his right, 00:40:11.840 --> 00:40:14.840 come, you who are blessed by my Father, 00:40:15.840 --> 00:40:22.840 inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." 00:40:23.840 --> 00:40:26.840 That's something that causes us to think about inheritance, right? 00:40:27.840 --> 00:40:29.840 They die, we inherit. 00:40:30.840 --> 00:40:36.840 Mostly in this world we hope for they die and we inherit money. 00:40:37.840 --> 00:40:38.840 But thanks a lot to a lot of tax systems, 00:40:39.840 --> 00:40:42.840 oftentimes they die and we inherit payments, right? 00:40:42.840 --> 00:40:43.840 And that's what we get. 00:40:44.840 --> 00:40:45.840 And that's the reality that's there. 00:40:46.840 --> 00:40:48.840 And so the cost that's there, but in Christ, 00:40:49.840 --> 00:40:51.840 he says there's an inheritance. 00:40:52.840 --> 00:41:00.840 There's a kingdom that's prepared for you, that's found in Christ from the foundation of the world. 00:41:01.840 --> 00:41:05.840 And so there's this reward, this eternal reward that's waiting. 00:41:06.840 --> 00:41:07.840 That's there. 00:41:08.840 --> 00:41:09.840 A reminder of hope. 00:41:11.840 --> 00:41:14.840 And then lastly, this is our last couple of verses. 00:41:15.840 --> 00:41:16.840 2 Corinthians 5. 00:41:17.840 --> 00:41:20.840 Paul writes, "And so we are always of good courage. 00:41:21.840 --> 00:41:27.840 We know that while we are at home in the body, we are away from the Lord. 00:41:28.840 --> 00:41:31.840 For we walk by faith, not sight. 00:41:32.840 --> 00:41:42.840 Yes, we are of good courage and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord." 00:41:43.840 --> 00:41:44.840 Two things in closing. 00:41:46.840 --> 00:41:47.840 Are you walking by faith? 00:41:49.840 --> 00:41:50.840 Are you walking by faith? 00:41:51.840 --> 00:41:53.840 Are we walking in our logic? 00:41:54.840 --> 00:41:56.840 Are we walking in our understanding? 00:41:57.840 --> 00:41:59.840 Are we walking in what we deem right? 00:42:00.840 --> 00:42:03.840 Or do we say, "Lord, I know what you expect from me. 00:42:04.840 --> 00:42:05.840 I know what you desire from me. 00:42:06.840 --> 00:42:08.840 And so, Lord, even though I don't understand it, 00:42:09.840 --> 00:42:10.840 though death may come, 00:42:10.840 --> 00:42:12.840 even though persecution may await me, 00:42:13.840 --> 00:42:14.840 even though there may be strife and conflict, 00:42:15.840 --> 00:42:16.840 Lord, even though this life here may hurt, 00:42:17.840 --> 00:42:19.840 I'm going to take every step in walking by faith 00:42:20.840 --> 00:42:23.840 to please and honor you in my life." 00:42:24.840 --> 00:42:26.840 And then number two, 00:42:28.840 --> 00:42:30.840 do you long for something more? 00:42:34.840 --> 00:42:35.840 When it comes to your neighbors, 00:42:36.840 --> 00:42:38.840 the grass isn't always greener on the other side. 00:42:39.840 --> 00:42:40.840 Right? 00:42:41.840 --> 00:42:43.840 And when it comes to Jesus, it is. 00:42:48.840 --> 00:42:50.840 And I want to challenge you this morning.