Our scripture reading this day is from 1 Corinthians chapter 15. Some of you will be familiar with 1 Corinthians chapter 15 because it is the resurrection chapter. We will begin in the middle of the chapter at verse 35. Paul has already made the case to the Corinthians that resurrection is a necessary reality for the gospel to have any power whatsoever. There must be the resurrection from the dead because if Christ is not raised, then we are still in our sins. But if Christ is raised, or as Dr. Sproul would say, since Christ is raised, we have the gospel. Paul begins to describe this resurrection body and its application to you here and now, not merely in the future. Beginning in verse 35, Paul says, but someone will say, how are the dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come? You fool, that which you sow does not come to life unless it dies, and that which you sow You do not sow the body which is to be, but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or of something else. But God gives it a body just as he wished, and to each of the seeds a body of its own. All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one flesh of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another flesh of fish. There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one and the glory of the earthly is another. There is one glory for the sun and another glory of the moon and another glory of the stars, for stars differ from star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a corruptible body. It has raised an incorruptible body. I didn't hear any amens. It is sown in dishonor. It is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness. It is raised in power. It is sown a natural body. It is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So also it is written, the first man, Adam, became a living soul. The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, then the spiritual. The first man is from earth, earthy. The second man is from heaven. As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy. And as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly. And just as we have borne the image of the earthly, we will also bear the image of the heavenly. Now I say this, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the corruptible inherit the incorruptible. Behold, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed. in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed. For this corruptible must put on the incorruptible, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this corruptible puts on the incorruptible, and this mortal puts on immortality, Then will come about the word that was written, death is swallowed up in victory. Oh death, where is your victory? Oh death, where is your sting? Now 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 brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord, because there is a future coming. Pray with me. Father, we long for that day that we have just read about, that we will be united to Christ together collectively and individually changed eternally into what we could never be on our own, into what we have never been, that we will be something greater than we ever could have dreamed. and all of the praise and the honor and the glory go to you. It is your plan. It is your provision. It is your promise. And Father, we rest securely in it this day. I pray that as we meet here, that you will that you will steal the backbones and the fortitude of your people who have placed their faith and trust in Jesus Christ, that we might become more of who you have called us to be as we surrender ourselves to you and the power of your spirit to mold us into the image of Christ until that day that you bring it to full completion and that we stand before you completely whole inside and out. Lord, we long for that day. We desire this day, this very moment. We pray that until that moment becomes a reality for us, that we will be found honoring you, serving you, bringing you glory. being the salt and light that we have been left here to be, that your kingdom might have its full decreed effect in this world through us. Father, be honored by our time here this Lord's day. We pray it in our soon coming Savior's name. We pray in the name of none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Time has come for the preaching of the word about that Lord Jesus Christ. I would ask you to meet me In John chapter six, if you have your scripture book with you this day, John chapter six, we will read verse 40. I guess we will read verse 35 to 40. We've been looking at the invigoration of the faithful discipler who was standing in the face of rejection Rejection not only of the message about Christ, but it was the Christ himself who was delivering the message that was being Rejected he was being personally rejected not merely Not merely was it a rejection because he was the messenger, but he himself is the message of the gospel and was being rejected in real time and yet his stamina, spiritual stamina, his ministerial backbone never wavered. He didn't flinch. He didn't give up. He didn't lash out. He took it in stride as that which is the inevitable will and purpose and plan of his Heavenly Father. the sovereign God on the throne of the universe. And he sets for us a tremendous example as Gospel ministers and you are as a believer. You are a gospel minister if you are in Christ You are a gospel minister. We tend to use the word Minister a little more loosely than maybe we should or maybe it's a little more tight than we should use it and we say well He he's a minister. He's a man of the cloth. I still don't know what that technically means, but I know what they're referencing Minister just means a servant And if you are in Christ, you are a servant of Christ. You are a slave of Christ. You are a minister of Christ, and therefore a minister of the gospel that he is the embodiment of. And as we look at his life that has been recorded for us in the scriptures, especially here as we go through the gospel of John, John is revealing to us that Jesus is the Messiah. the one in whom your faith must be placed if you are to meet God on his terms. And we see Jesus facing this rejection in the midst of what you and I read As a believer, having been indwelt by the Holy Spirit, having been sealed with the Holy Spirit for the day of redemption, we now have a different prism through which we view the Scripture. We have a spiritually enlightened mind that views the Scripture differently than it did before the Holy Spirit of God invaded our life. And we read in John chapter six a very clear description of Jesus being the bread that brings eternal life, the bread from heaven that taken fully and completely as it is sent, as the one that brings spiritual sustenance for eternity. We see it with great clarity. But the people to whom Jesus was speaking did not see it with that clarity. They saw it through the prism of selfishness, that self-centered prism with which every mother's child comes pre-programmed. You step into this world and take your first breath as a self-centered creature, and the only cure for that is the invasion of the Holy Spirit into your life to begin to mold and shape you into the image of Jesus Christ. It is a one-time invasion with an ongoing, incremental building and molding you into another. And Jesus is speaking here to these people, and then we see, we get a little glimpse into his mind and what caused him to hold it all together. And it is the same thing that will hold you and I together. It was a firm and complete, absolute reliance upon the sovereign, immutable will of his Father in heaven. Jesus had no chance of failure in the mission that he came to fulfill. And as you and I go out into the world as gospel ministers, there is no chance for failure as we pursue it according to the will of the Father. And that is something that you and I need to latch on to because, let's face it, we feel like failures most of the time in gospel ministry, amen? With your family, those the closest to you in your life, they reject the gospel. And you begin to think, well, what could I do better? How could I have said it better? I don't know what to tell you. You can't make the message more clear and you can't make the message more powerful than the God-man himself made it. And yet he is rejected by the people that should have been, from our perspective, the people that should have been the most ready and the most qualified and the most fully prepared. humanly prepared to hear the gospel. This group of people rejected it out of hand. So what does he do? Does he change the message? Does he change his method? No. He doesn't change anything. He retreats to faith in the Father. And it culminates, this personal soliloquy culminates in verse 40, which is what we have been looking at in the last few weeks. We're going to get to this last clause in this verse today. I want to read verses 35 to 40 to grab the context and the drama of the moment, and then we're going to petition the Spirit to give us eyes to see and ears to hear that we might glean this day from the Word of God what only He can reveal to us. Verse 35, Jesus said to them, to the crowds that were following him, to the crowds that were following him because of the signs that he was doing. Not because of signs that they had seen or had heard about, signs that he was doing. They were following him around, watching miracles happen every moment. This would be a great lesson for our so-called brethren today that think that there is a miracle around every corner. That there's a miracle on every page of the Bible and that miracles are the way to convince people of the Bible and get them into the kingdom. You could not possibly produce more miracles than Jesus Christ produced. Friends, every breath he took was a miracle. Every step that he took on this planet was a miracle that holy God could sustain life in this sin-sick, sin-ravaged world. And yet we find him here at the pinnacle of his ministry. John chapter six is the pinnacle. This is the crescendo of Jesus's ministry. This is the high point of his ministry. And at the very high point of his popularity and ministerial prowess, he is utterly and absolutely rejected out of hand. There could not have been more physical earthly proof of who he was and what these people have witnessed. That is who the them are. In verse 35, Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never hunger, and he who believes in me will never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me, and yet do not believe. There could have been little up to this point in Jesus's life that would have had such a deflating effect on his humanity. But verse 37, he continues, all that the Father gives me will come to me. And the one who comes to me, I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven not to do my own will, but the will of Him who sent me. Now this is the will of Him who sent me, that of all that He has given me, I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father." Here he gets personal. This is the will of my father. This is my focus. That everyone who sees the son and believes in him will have eternal life. And I myself will raise him up on the last day. Pray with me. Father, we have come to the time that we turn to your word. If there is a moment on the Lord's day that we are desperate for the intervention of the Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit, it is now. If we are to make sense of and find right soul-piercing application of this book, This book like no other book. This book that is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, able to divide between the thoughts and intentions of a man's heart. If it is ever to accomplish that, it is a work that is done by another outside of us. It is your work, Holy Spirit, that we are desperate for. But You have sent Your Word and Your Son and Your Spirit to provide for us, Father, is what we find in this book. Lord Jesus, we know that there is more in these passages than what these original hearers could even have begun to understand would affect the church for all of eternity to come. Father, we praise you that these words have been recorded. Spirit, we pray that you will give us insight that we might rightly divide and rightly apply them. And Lord Jesus, we pray that you will be honored as our forerunner, as our example, as our provider. May we see you in a new and more correct light as we leave here this day, that you might receive the glory that you were due from every life in this place. It is our confident petition because of the finished work of the life, and death, and burial, resurrection, and ascension of our King, the Lord Jesus Christ. It is in his name that we pray. Amen. It was in the early 1990s when Communism fell in Russia. Many of you will remember those days. They were some strange days in the news cycle for us as we saw the Berlin Wall start to come down. There was a collapse of the Soviet Union after what we referred to as the Cold War. And when that wall came down, it didn't only allow capitalism to begin to invade those dark spaces, it allowed the gospel to be able to openly invade a country where it had been completely outlawed for decades, nearly a century. And there was an influx of all things religious into that area. And even in the early 1990s, there was one name that the devout believers in Jesus Christ in Kazakhstan called for. They petitioned John MacArthur to go to Kazakhstan and meet with the pastors in Kazakhstan. When he arrived, he arrived after a 30 some odd hour flight to get there. They picked him up at the airport and they told him that as we arrive, the conference will begin when you walk in the door. He arrived on Monday morning, they drove him to the conference, Hall, it was in Kazakhstan, which had been the place where all of the religious dissidents had been put during the last several decades of the communistic reign in the Soviet Union. They sent them all to Kazakhstan. Well, if you invade a place with preachers, the gospel is going to flourish. And there were many, many churches. There were 1,600 pastors at this first ever Central Asian Pastors Conference. And he taught for three days, all day long, the only speaker. They were trying to drink from a fire hose, and MacArthur was holding on for dear life. And after three days, there was a meeting with those that had put this conference on, and they brought a translator in and brought Johnny Mac in, and they said through the translator, we appreciate what you're doing here, but we want to know when you're going to get to the good part. And he, like you and I in that situation, wanted to know, by your definition, what is the good part? He said, we want to know about the end. We want to know about heaven. And he realized that in that part of the world, there was very little to capture people's attention and hold their affections to this world. I've told you before that it is a very difficult thing in the modern American culture and climate to convince people that they need a savior when everything else that they need is readily available. We've never had a more affluent culture than the United States experiment has produced. But in post-Soviet Kazakhstan, they were standing in line for horse meat every day. They could scarcely afford to buy an egg. MacArthur said they were feeding 1600 pastors every day soup. And he said the Lord was gracious. He allowed it to rain the entire time that he was there. So the soup pots that were being cooked outside remained full with water. so that all they had to do was add a handful of potatoes that they could find and some salt and pepper and that was their sustenance for the week. And he said, it was not hard to convince people that had nothing in this life to live for that there was something in the future that is far greater than they could ever imagine. And they wanted to know about that. What is the good news? What is the good part? Well, when we talk about salvation, we wanna know what is the good part as well. What is the good part of salvation? Well, preacher, that's easy to answer. I'm not gonna go to hell. Yeah, that's definitely a facet of the good part. But is that it? Is that it? Is it just that I get to the end of my life and the worst possible, imaginable suffering is no longer an option for me? Is that sufficient? Is that enough? Well, I don't know if that's enough, but that's not all that there is. And when we talk about salvation and we're looking at the, what we have described as the invigoration of the faithful disciple are here in John chapter six in the middle of this passage, in the middle of this chapter, in this passage that we just read. What is it that is on his mind? What is he describing in verse 40? What is this eternal will, this elective will of his father that brings a regeneration that causes men to see the Son of God as the Son of God? Causes men to see Christ as different than anyone else in that crowd saw him save for a handful of true disciples. No one else saw him as the Son of God. They saw him as a good prophet. They saw him as a good teacher. They saw him as a miracle worker. They saw him as an inexplicable human. The world sees him as that. But only a select few saw him as the son. And even those that saw him as the son, not all of them believed. in Him as the Son, as that Savior. And he says, this is the will of my Father that everyone who sees the Son, who has this regenerate mind enabled by the Spirit to see Him and is invigorated to place their faith in Him, that have this sovereign justification applied to their life. They will have eternal life, and it begins this sovereign sanctification that begins in a moment in time and progresses through life until that last day when we go to be with the Lord. And he references it here at the end of verse 40, I will raise him up on the last day. And we say, what is the good part? Friends, that is the good part. I know for many Americans, it seems that the good part is that we can have a comfortable, enjoyable life and existence while we are here and have God on a leash to give us what we want. We'll delight ourselves in Him and then He'll give us the desire of our heart. He'll give us what we want. But that can't be the good part. Because if that were the good part, this would never end. And I gotta tell you, From my perspective, if him giving me what I want in this world is the good part, I need to find a better religion than that. Because I'm an American, and I've had a lot by comparison to the rest of the world, and there's never been anything that I have acquired that brought more than a fleeting satisfaction in my life. And if you're honest with yourself, it's true of you as well. There must be something more. What else is there? What is the good part? Well, the good part, friends, comes as the culmination of the elective purposes of God, and the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit, and the justifying work of the Holy Spirit, and the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. They all lead to one great word that we want to focus on today in this Lord's Day on this house of worship. And it is the goal of the Holy Spirit. It is what we in the church refer to as glorification, the sovereign glorification of God. It is something that you cannot achieve. It is something that you cannot acquire. It is something that he bestows. And it is something that you and I are desperate for, as we will see. Come with me as we open this idea of glorification up. First, we'll look at a definition of glorification. I've already told you that that is the good part that we want to get to. Glorification first is the destination, it is the destination of our awesome salvation. I know the word awesome is overused and it seems to lose its punch sometimes, but friends, what salvation is should fill you with awe, leave you speechless. This salvation that God has provided for us from its inception to its completion is something that should leave us in speechless wonder. an adoration to the one who has provided it. The destination of this awesome salvation is summed up here in this last clause in John chapter six and verse 40, that Jesus Christ himself will raise you up on the last day. It is a personal act from Him to His people, individually. And those individuals become a collection of His trophies of grace. He will raise them up. And the idea of being raised up is one that every person should be interested in. Because if you are breathing, you are terminal. You have a date with the one preacher that no one ever ignores, and his name is death. And what after that? The one thing people don't wanna talk about today is dying because dying is, From a human perspective, it is the final. Well, what dying is is the final opportunity to either serve the Lord or trust the Lord. That's not the final. Life doesn't end. This life ends there. But real life begins after that, either real life in the kingdom of heaven or real life in the prison of heaven that we know of as hell. And what we need, because of that reality that we cannot escape, this reality of death, what we need is one that has the power over that that can raise us up from that. It is the destination of our awesome salvation, this idea of glorification. Let's look a little deeper so that we get an idea of what this is, what this stems from. Where do we get this word glorification? Because I know that you've already looked it up, probably haven't, but it works well in the context of this sermon. I don't find the word glorification anywhere in my Bible, preacher. And you're right, I don't find it in mine either. We're going to look at some words that you do find, and we're going to define what this word means, and we're going to see how absolutely accurate and how absolutely encouraging and mystifying this reality is. It is not only the destination of our awesome salvation, friends, glorification is the reflection of the author of salvation. It is the reflection of the author of salvation. In the Greek New Testament, the word glory, The English word glory in the Greek New Testament is the word doxa. And it means a most exalted state, a most exalted state, a position of glory, the highest state of being. The verb form of doxa is the word doxazo. Doxazo can mean to make glorious. to adorn with luster. The verb glorify means to impart glory to something, or to cause dignity and worth to become manifest. Romans chapter eight, Paul says the entire creation is awaiting the revealing of the glory of Jesus Christ. We live in a world that mocks him today, that belittles him. We live in a world that's willing to accept some of what he says on their terms and reject the rest. But there's coming a day where he's going to step out of heaven and all the earth will cower. It says that they're gonna cry out for the rocks to fall on them to hide them from his face. Paul tells us that one day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. And friends, that day, The glory of Jesus Christ will be made manifest to all. He will be glorified. Glorification, then, is the act of making something glorious. You say, okay, well, how does that apply to me? I understand somewhat how what you said is gonna apply to Jesus and God, but how does that apply to me? We'll get there. But I need you to capture the full understanding of this to the best of my ability. Flip back, if you will, to Exodus chapter 14. That's in the Old Testament. Second book from the beginning. Look at a few little verses here that are going to give us some perspective on the fact that glory is the reflection of the author of salvation. Chapter 14, you're familiar with the exodus of the children of Israel from Egypt, from the house of slavery in Egypt. They come to the Red Sea. You've been with us on Sunday night, you'll remember that when they came to the Red Sea, God told them to take the longer route south, and they come to a place where there is a desert in front of them, and mountains to their right, and an impassable gulf to their left. And behind them is the innumerable army of Pharaoh who has changed his mind. Now, what do we do? Well, they did what you would do. They turned to Moses and said, what did you do bringing us out here? They asked this question, were there not enough graves in Egypt for you to leave us there to die that you brought us out here? That's a crazy question to ask. That was insulting Moses, but it was an attack on the God that Moses served. So God does exactly what God does, which is the opposite of what you would do. Verse 17 of Exodus chapter 14, God speaking. Yahweh says, as for me, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians with strength so that they will go in after them. You know, go into where? Into the Red Sea after he has parted the water. God told him, you hang out right here, I'll handle this. Moses, you hold that rod up. God parted the water. And the Shekinah glory cloud passed and went, but it was such, it wasn't just a light and it wasn't just a fog because it prevented the Egyptians from getting to the Israelis all night long. And God caused an east wind to blow through that gap all night. You know why? I have no idea why. Well, it was to dry the ground preacher. You people live in South Louisiana. You know, there's only one wind that drives the ground and it's not the East wind and East wind is good for nothing. It can't, you can't even go fishing when the East wind is blue. East wind blew all night. God told Moses the next morning, this is what we're about to do. Verse 17, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians with strength so that they will go in after them. They will go into the heart of the Red Sea after the Israeli people. Have you ever seen somebody do something daring, and then they invited you to do it, and you said, huh? You ever done that? I have, but not often enough, I'll say that. If you saw the sea open up wide enough for a million people to pass through, and there's a wall of water on the right and a wall of water on the left, you think you'd go behind them if you didn't have to? I'll tell you this, the only reason they went through was because they had to. It's either drown in the ocean or die by the sword. I'll take my chances here. He held the wall up all night. I guess I can trust him. Maybe that's why he had it held up all night. Hey, it stayed there for all night long. I bet it can last another couple hours. Let's make our way through it. He said, I'm going to harden their heart and they're going to go in after you. And I will be glorified through Pharaoh and all his army through his chariots and his horsemen. God says, I will be glorified by them. By what? By destroying all of them that fast. One of the hardest things Moses ever had to do was when they got across that sea and God told Moses, he said, hold the staff up again. I'm going to drown them. And I just wonder how close the people that Moses grew up with were to him when he did that. He did it. And God was glorified. His dignity and worth became manifest. And when we're talking about glory and being glorified, we're talking first and foremost about God. Verse 18, he says it again, the Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh. When I am glorified through Pharaoh, through his chariots and his horsemen, he destroyed the greatest army on the face of the earth with water. The Israelis didn't fire a shot, they didn't sharpen a sword. He was glorified, and all of Egypt knew it. Later, they're gonna come to the land of Canaan, they're gonna send the 12 spies into the land of Canaan, and the two spies are gonna go in, and they're gonna go to Jericho, and they're gonna go into Jericho, and they're gonna wind up hiding at a harlot's house, one of the most inexplicable portions of scripture, but Rahab becomes part of the lineage of Christ through that, amazingly enough. But you remember what Rahab told those two spies? He said, I know who you are. For 40 years, our hearts have been melted within us because we heard of what happened in Egypt. God said, I'm gonna be glorified. And the inhabitants of Canaan, she said, our hearts melted within us. 40 years later, they come through the Jordan River and they come to Jericho and they button that thing up as tight as a Tupperware bowl. Nobody in, nobody out. because we're afraid of these people and their God, because of what happened here, Exodus 14. Exodus chapter 15, you have the song of Moses and Israel. It's really the song of Moses and Miriam. Miriam comes in and helps him. We have Moses and Miriam leading the entire nation in singing. You can about imagine what a noise that made. All of the parts in harmony and antiphonal praise, Moses leading, Miriam leading. You see in verse one, Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song to Yahweh and said, I will sing to Yahweh for he is highly exalted. That term highly exalted is the word glorified. He is glorious. See it again in Psalm 22. We see the people in Jesus's day in Matthew chapter 9 in awe of what they see Jesus doing. Jesus healed the paralytic, gets out of a boat in chapter 9 of Matthew. They brought a paralytic lying on a bed, seeing their faith. Jesus said to the paralytic, take courage, son, your sins are forgiven. Some of the scribes said to themselves, this man blasphemes, Jesus knowing their thoughts. This had to be the most annoying part of Jesus's ministry to his enemies. He always knew what they were thinking. You couldn't even think something bad about him, he just knew. knowing what they're thinking, he said, why are you thinking evil in your hearts? For what is easier to say, your sins are forgiven or get up and walk? But so that you may know that the son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins. Then he said to the paralytic, get up, pick up your bed and go home. And he got up and went home. That instant. Not, you know, Jesus told me to go home six months ago and I'm starting to get the energy to go. Progressive healing no he got up and went home first nine, but when the crowd saw this they were afraid and glorified God They ascribed glory to God. They saw this unimaginably Impressive thing and it was terrifying because it was God that was doing it This idea of glorification in the life of a believer is a reflection of the author of salvation and But I'll tell you this, it's not a possibility in your life. I'm not here to tell you that it's impossible. God could do this with you if you'll jump these three hoops. This could be yours. I'm not telling you that. I'm telling you that glorification is the completion of the aim of salvation. It is the full intention of salvation from the beginning. We have referenced this passage already a couple of times, and I'm probably gonna come back here in a little while, but Romans chapter eight, Verses 29 and 30 are known as the golden chain of salvation. Paul says this, I want you to follow the steps. He goes from step one to step two to step three to step four. He goes right down the line. And all of these things are absolute certainties. Because those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son, so that his son would be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined, he called. And those whom he called, he also justified. And those whom he justified, he also glorified. The end result of salvation from the very beginning until the end, the completion of the aim of salvation is your glorification as a child of God. 1 Thessalonians chapter four. You can follow me there, you can write them down, because I'm not gonna be here very long, I have several more to get to. And the clock doesn't stop. Must have been a pretty awesome day in Joshua's life when the sun stood still. 1 Thessalonians 4, evidently you don't agree. 1 Thessalonians 4 beginning in verse 16. Paul is writing to this church in Thessalonica and he says this about this aim of salvation. The Lord himself What did Jesus say in John 640? I myself will raise him up at the last day. Paul says, for the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Now, I ask you, do you think that you are prepared right now to be in the presence of the Lord forever? The way that you are right now, do you think that you are prepared to be with the Lord forever and ever? The answer to that is a resounding no, I am not ready for that. So something must have to happen. If this is the completed aim of salvation, and we've already looked at sanctification, that there's this ongoing work of molding me into the image of Christ, there's something else that has to take place. Because I don't think that there's enough time left in my life for him to complete the work of molding me into the image of Jesus Christ. There's gonna have to be some jump in progress from where I am to where I need to be when the moment comes. I have good news for you, that's exactly what's gonna happen. Let's look at a description of glorification. You can turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 15. We'll be there for a while. 1 Corinthians chapter 15. We read a sizable portion of it this morning. It is the resurrection chapter. And as we're talking about glorification, the resurrection of your body, is what Paul is describing here, and what Paul is describing is the glorified state that you will be in when that day of resurrection comes for you. He gives us a description of glorification here. 2 Corinthians 5, 17 says that if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Well, we are a new creation on the inside, but there's coming a day when that new inside will have an outside to match. Won't that be great? No more sore feet. No more eyes that are getting weak. No more back issues. Have no idea how much hair we're gonna have. Don't know what color it's gonna be. Gray is growing on me though. You'll get that later. But I'll tell you friends, I'll take all of the sore feet. I'll take all of the bad eyesight. I'll take all of the physical ailment that this world has. It's the Lord who just takes sin from me. But I have good news for you. He's gonna take it all from you. The good news is that it's all going to go away. We see in verses 42 to 49 an unavoidable re-creation. We're going to be re-created and it's unavoidable. Look at verse 42. So also is the resurrection from the dead. It is sown a corruptible body. It is raised an incorruptible body. You understand, you're going to have to have a body that is suited to endure heaven. The Bible talks about a resurrection of life and a resurrection to death. Resurrection to heaven and a resurrection to hell you don't have a body that is suited for either one right now But when you die, you will be fitted for one One will be able to survive and experience With absolute clarity all of the punishment and disaster of hell for eternity It will never die Or You will be resurrected into a body that is incorruptible, a body that doesn't wear down, doesn't wear out. It will function in ways that we can't even imagine today. A mind that is not clouded by sin. A body that is not constantly assaulted by the temptations of and to sin. It must happen because we cannot step into heaven the way that we are. Somebody goes on to say, it will be sown, planted, buried. Picture of burial, planting a seed, sowing a seed in dishonor. It will be raised in glory. It will be raised in glory. It's something that we can't even, we can't even describe. We can't put into words. Sown in weakness, raised in power. Is your body weak today? Well, yeah. There's coming a day where it won't be. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. He's making this connection that you're going to pass from this life to the next, and you're going to pass out of this body into one that is fit for its destination. He's speaking here to believers, so those that have put their faith and trust in Christ have a destination where this glorified body will be theirs. Verse 47, the first man was from earth. That's Adam. He was earthy. The second man is from heaven. That's the Lord Jesus Christ. As is the earthly, so also are those who are earthy. That's what we see. As men go, men are. And, and. He's putting these two ideas together in parallel. Earthy is as earthy goes, and as is the heavenly, so are those who are heavenly. Verse 49, and just as we were born in the image of the earthy, when were you born in the image of the earthy? When you were born. You're a descendant of Adam. You might have a little different shade of hair and eye color and skin tone. Some people's feet are bigger. Some people's feet are smaller. Some people have beautiful white locks of hair and the rest of you have color in your hair that have hair. But we're all descendants of Adam. You don't ever look at a person and say, is that a person or a rhinoceros? You don't ever think that. Because you know what people are. As is the earthy, so is the heavenly. As is the heavenly, so are those who are heavenly. And just as we have borne the image of the earthly, we will also bear the image of the heavenly. Let me give you a little glimpse into what that means. He's talking about the connection, our connection with Adam and our connection with Christ as believers. As we reflect the image of Adam in this life, we will reflect the image of Jesus Christ in the next. We have had the Holy Spirit of God invade us to mold us into the image of Christ on the inside, but there's coming a day where even our outside will match his outside. You say, well, that's great, so I'm gonna be, what am I gonna look like? I'm glad you asked. Revelation chapter one. By the way, this is not the vision that Jesse Duplantis had when he saw Jesus. Because Jesse Duplantis didn't see Jesus. I think he did see something, but it was not holy. Revelation chapter one. John hears a voice like a trumpet telling him to write in a scroll what he sees. He says, I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and I turned, I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the middle of the lampstands, I saw one standing like a son of man. Okay, I see a human form. clothed in a robe, reaching to the feet, girded across his chest with a golden sash. His head and his hair were white like white wool, like snow. His eyes were a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze when it had been made to glow in the furnace, and his voice was like the sound of many waters, and having in his right hand seven stars and a sharp two-edged sword which comes out of his mouth, and his face was like the sun shining in its power. And we say, who could that be? John says, when I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man. Jesse didn't do that either, yet. And he placed his right hand on me saying, do not fear. I am the first and the last and the living one. I was dead and behold, I am alive forever and ever and have the keys of death and Hades. Friends, that can only be one. That is the Lord Jesus Christ. Am I telling you you're going to have burnished bronze colored feet and flaming eyes and hair like white wool and a sharp two-edged sword come out of your mouth? I don't think you're going to have all of that. But you're going to have a body that is fitted with capacities that you can't even imagine in this life. Am I going to be able to fly? If need be. Am I going to be able to breathe underwater? I don't know why you would, but maybe. But there is an unavoidable recreation coming. And it is also an undeniable recreation. Look at verses 50 to 53, 1 Corinthians 15. I say this, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. We've got a problem. I can't get there like this because I'm flesh and blood. I cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Nor does the corruptible inherit the incorruptible. This body is corruptible. It's decaying. It's going away. Behold, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed. There's a change coming for every believer. And it is a change for the better. And it is so much better that you can't begin to imagine it in this life. In a moment, how fast will it happen? In a moment. Then he says, in the twinkling of an eye. I think that has been scientifically identified as one sixth of a nanosecond. A nanosecond is one millionth of a microsecond. You do the math. It is the smallest degree of measurement of time possible. It will happen in an instant. In the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised incorruptible and we will be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruptible. And this mortal must put on immortality. It is undeniable. It must happen. It will happen for him to bring us to himself. These things must take place. It is going to happen. Verses 54 to 57, we see it will be an unchangeable recreation. Because if you think from your perspective here and now, well, If I could change one way that maybe I could change back is that how long will I'll have this, you know Is this too good to be true is this pie in the sky? verse 54 But when this corruptible puts on the incorruptible and this mortal puts on immortality then will come about the word that is written death is swallowed up in victory and For something to be swallowed up, the picture of something being swallowed up is a picture of something being brought to its most inescapable end. It cannot survive, it is swallowed up, it is destroyed, it is gone. And the greatest enemy that a person has to face is death. And friends, when death has been put aside as an enemy, there is nothing that can bring change to that. Death will be destroyed. The state that you will be in will be a state of eternality and eternal life that cannot be altered. Verse 56. No, 55. Oh, death, where is your victory? This is a taunt. It's a taunt. Oh, death, where is your victory? Oh, death, where is your sting? It's like a defanged serpent, a flying insect with their stinger removed. What can you do to me? If you take that six-inch drill stem off the front of a mosquito's head, you have no reason to be afraid of the mosquito. Where's your drill bit? Oh, death, where is your sting? You can't touch me anymore. We don't have to worry about decay. We don't have to worry about our body falling apart. We don't have to worry about sin in us or around us. Look at verse 56. 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. There is no sin around us. There will be no sin in us. This will be an unalterable state. There will be no way that we can alter this state. We won't be able to send our way out of it. No one around us will be able to bring sin into the realm to be able to remove us from it. You want to talk about a place of safety? Friends, to be in the presence of God in the glorified body that is coming, this incorruptible, immortal body that is coming to those that believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, there's nothing that can change it. It will be our eternal position. definition of glorification, little of a description of glorification. Well, what does this all mean for you and me? What does this mean for us? Well, just in the vein that I think the Lord Jesus was thinking and feeling in his humanity in John chapter six, I think that there is an invigorating factor to the idea of glorification. Sometimes we need some encouragement. Sometimes we get down. Sometimes we run out of ways to motivate ourselves. And sometimes we need some invigoration. We need a shot in the arm. I think this idea of glorification does just that for us. You're already in 1 Corinthians 15. Look at the last verse of this chapter. Begins with a word that you need to pay attention to when you see it in the scripture. It's a word, therefore. Why is it there? What does it mean? It's pointing back. It's pointing back to this entire chapter, maybe this entire letter that Paul has written to the Corinthians. He's telling these people, you put your faith and trust in Christ, but all of your behavior looks worse than what the people around you that are unsaved are doing. You're suing one another, you're having extramarital and premarital affairs all over the place, in the church, everywhere. Your finances are wrong, you're suing one another, fighting with one another. You're arguing over whether the gospel even has any power. What about the resurrection? You're trying to bring Greek philosophy in and cause it to mesh with the scripture. And it can't happen. there's coming a day when all of this will be put off and we will be clothed with righteousness on the outside when we arrive in heaven therefore verse 15 58 says that the invigoration of this idea of glorification should create in you and I a commitment to Jesus Christ. Look at what he says. My beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable. Put off the old, put on the new, clear your perspective, set your mind fully on the grace to be yours on that day. Stop vacillating. Quit trying to blend the world with your life. Quit being satisfied with even a little bit of sin in your life and focus on what matters. Steadfast, immovable, the end is coming. Glorification is coming for you. I just wonder how much of a righteous regret we'll have in that glorified state. As we look back at what all we could have been in this life that we were not. Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. A commitment to him, always abounding in the work of the Lord. So does that mean I need to be a missionary? I don't know. Think that's what he's called and gifted you to do? Maybe so. But he didn't save anyone merely to keep them out of hell at the end of their life. He saved them for works that he foreordained that you would walk in them and complete in this life. Abounding in the work of the Lord just means following him according to his word, empowered by his spirit to accomplish what it is he has called and gifted you to do. Might mean be a missionary. It might mean you need to work in the nursery. It might mean you need to be a Sunday school teacher. It might mean you need to cut the grass at church, help clean up in the church, serve at church functions. It could mean a lot of things. Question is, what has he compelled you to do? You have a greater reason to do that now as you contemplate the reality of glorification, what it is that is coming to you inescapably, unchangeable, A commitment to him, I think, is the most obvious conclusion. But it's also invigorating because it produces a confidence in him. It gives us a confidence, but it's a confidence in another. It's a confidence in him because we know that this glorified existence is what is coming for us, that all of this labor, all of this fighting with sin, all of this fighting with sinners, all of this assault by this sinful world is going to be put aside and we will exist in a glorified state. We have a confidence in the one that has provided all that for us. Look at the end of verse 58. Be steadfast and movable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." You ever feel like you waste your time? You ever done something and say, man, that was a waste of time? Or look back at something and say, I wish I'd done something different. Friends, to serve the Lord in this life is going to provide for us a lack of regret in heaven as we look back and say, I'm glad I did that instead of that. We're not going to look back at serving the Lord no matter how ineffective it seems to be, no matter how difficult it is, no matter what it costs us in this life, we're not going to be in that glorified state and look back and say, man, I wish I'd done something different with my life. It's not in vain in this life. We have a confidence in him, and that confidence invigorates us to serve with greater passion. But it also provides for us comfort through him. Turn to the right a couple of pages, back to 1 Thessalonians chapter four. We're gonna end here. Paul is writing to this church in Thessalonica, and they were, he was only there for a few weeks, and this church was started, and these were some faithful people, and they took to heart everything that the apostle told them. And the church was under assault by spiritual forces and error, and they're all shaking up, What's going to happen to the people that died? He said, well, the trumpet's going to come and the dead in Christ will rise first, and then we're going to rise with them. He's not going to miss one. He said, well, what about those that died at sea and sank to the bottom and the fish ate them? I think he knows where the pieces are. He pretty much spoke them into existence out of nothing. I don't think he's going to have a lot of problem finding them. I mean, they took John Knox's body and drug it out of the grave, William Tyndale, drug it out of the grave, ground it to a powder, burned it, and threw it in the river. God knows where every speck of William Tyndale's DNA is, and there's coming a day when the dead will rise first, and we're going to be watching William Tyndale ahead of us. Verse 18 of 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 comes to another one of these tremendous words, since that is the case. This invigoration that is ours because of this future glorification that God speaks of in the past tense, it is so certain in your future that God writes it down as though it has already happened. Nothing can stand in the way of your future glorification. Nothing. Jesus said, I myself will raise him up at the last day. And friends, when he walked out of that tomb before the angels rolled the stone away for Peter to see inside, he proved that he took himself out and death has no power over him and he will save you from that power as well. Paul says, therefore, comfort one another with these words. Friends, these are comforting words. There's comfort in Christ while we wait in this life, while we're hashing it out and dealing with this flesh, and we're in Romans chapter seven, and who will rescue me from this body of death? Friends, there's a day coming when he's gonna rescue you and I from this body of death, and it's gonna be a body so glorious that we can't even describe it in human terms. And Jesus was encouraging those that heard him that day on that hillside in Galilee, outside Capernaum. And the Holy Spirit of God has had John write it for us that he himself will raise us up on that last day. And for those of you that are in Christ, that is a promise that no one can take from you. And if you are not in Christ, I ask you this, what is keeping you today? there's nothing better that this world could offer there's nothing that you could possibly be anticipating waiting on hoping for trying to work out there's nothing that you can do that will ever compare to this and there's one way to get there And it is through Jesus Christ. It is through faith in Jesus Christ. It is through putting your life at his feet and he takes you into his bosom and you become his and he will raise you up at the last day. It is a security of an eternal nature that cannot be altered because it is him that is doing it. And friends, if that doesn't make you want to serve him more, then I don't know if you've been paying attention. But that day is coming. It's coming soon. I hope that you will be ready. Stand with me and we're gonna pray. Heavenly Father, we are blessed to have been here this day, just to hear your word read aloud, to go into our heart, into our mind, and have the Holy Spirit accomplish the work that only he can do. Pray that your people will be encouraged this day as we look at this glorious existence that is so certain that you speak of it as though it has already happened for those of us that are still living. Lord, we long for that. But we also long to be found as you would have us, faithfully serving you. And I pray, Lord, that you will use these truths to invigorate us in this fight that we have in this world. Lord, sometimes with our family, sometimes with co-workers, neighbors. Lord, attempting to be gospel ministers and enduring the assaults that come our way as the gospel is rejected. I pray, Lord, that you will invigorate us to know that there is a day coming that we are not serving in vain, that this life is not futile, but that you have declared the end just as clearly as you have declared the beginning, and our trust is in you. Father, be honored in the lives of your people. Be honored by the preaching of your word. We pray it in Jesus's name. Amen.