I would invite your attention now to 1 Corinthians, chapter number 15. 1 Corinthians, chapter number 15, and the church family may not be surprised to hear this, but for almost two years now, we have been making our way. I actually look back, and it was July 2017 when we began this. Of course, we take breaks for special occasions and vacations and things. We have reached, this is the apex of the book. This is it. This 15th chapter is all about the resurrection, that glorious coming time when the saints will rise again. And Paul has been making argument after argument, proving from the scriptures themselves, from eyewitness testimony, from really God's big ultimate plan of kingdom consummation. He has been proving that the coming resurrection of the righteous is a fact. And it is a fact that everyone who is born again should find great comfort in and assurance And knowing that this is not it, there's life beyond the grave, there is comfort to be found, and the coming of the Lord Jesus. And that's what this 15th chapter has been about, but now it is Paul's crescendo. When it's all said and done, all of these events, coming future events, our salvation, and our change that is coming, it is all because of the finished work of Jesus Christ. And so as Paul brings this glorious chapter to a close, he's going to point us to Jesus. He's just going to tell us that all of this is because of the work that Christ has done in our behalf. And let us worship him together today. In 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verse 50, God's word says, now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment. And the twinkling of an eye at the last trump, for the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law, But, and thank God for those glorious interjections in scripture. B-U-T, but thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. And we might as well stop there, because I ain't gonna try and tackle verse 58 this morning. You're gonna get one more sermon out of chapter 15, unless Christ comes, and if he does, maybe I get to preach in heaven someday, right? Victory in Jesus, that is the subject that I would like to speak to you on today, victory in Jesus. You can't go in there like that. Have you ever heard those words? You can't go in there like that. Now I grew up as a preacher's kid. My father is and has been pastoring the Lord's churches for 40-something years. We were at church every time the doors were open, Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night, special meetings, prayer meetings, Bible conferences, and can I be honest enough to say as a little boy, that was not my favorite thing to do. It was many, there were many other things that little boys like rather than being trapped in church seemingly all the time. So given the first opportunity, my brothers and I would do what boys would do when given an ounce of freedom. whether before church, after Sunday school, or during a break from a Bible conference somewhere, we'd be outside playing. We'd be splashing in the mud puddles, we'd be running and sliding in the grass, or climbing trees was always one of our favorite things to do. And just about time the church bell would ring, My mother would look at us. Our shirt tails hanging out, grass stains on our knees, our Sunday shoes. Anybody ever still wear Sunday shoes? Sunday shoes, that's what I still call them. My Sunday shoes covered in mud and my mother would get so upset. She had dressed us up and done her level best to try to make us look resentful and now we were a filthy mess. Covered in filth, invariably my mother would do what every mother on the planet has done and what every little boy on the planet hates. She would lick her thumb and begin to scrub the dirt off of us. And while she is scrubbing, I guess mother's saliva, it could probably take the rust off a bumper, the way that they work that stuff. And while she was scrubbing on us, taking a layer of skin off, I might say, she would say some words something like this, you can't go in there looking like that. The message from the text today is that when the trumpet sounds and it's time to go into that holy place called heaven, you can't go in there looking like this. You've got to get cleaned up first. Something's got to happen. Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Say what you will, believe what you will, but something has to be done. And this change, the change that is incumbent upon us, this likeness that can be brought about by the Holy Spirit will conform us into the very image of Jesus Christ. One day, every believer will be fully justified, wholly sanctified, and totally glorified, all because we have been given victory in Jesus. And so when Mother says, you can't go in there like that, Paul says, you can't go to heaven like that, but I've got good news. You can get cleaned up from the inside out. by something with much more cleansing power than mom's love or saliva. You can be washed whiter than snow in the blood of Calvary's lamb. You can have victory in Jesus. And that is the message that I have for you today. As Paul ends, and Paul is ending this letter that he wrote to the church at Corinthians, He has given us a long and detailed thesis on the resurrection, but he wants to be sure, before he finishes this, that he gives credit where credit is due, honor to whom honor, praise to whom praise, and he wants to make sure that Christ alone receives glory for this wonderful work of victory that belongs to the Christian. So in this chapter, and just very, very briefly, in the first part of it, the apostle gives scriptural evidence for resurrection. He is given a list. You can go back and read this. He's given a list of historical eyewitnesses, those who can give an account of the resurrection. He then laid out a list of what ifs. What if there is no resurrection and what that means to us if indeed the dead do not rise. He reveals, and I thought one of the most glorious parts of this chapter is Paul showing how that the coming resurrection is a vital part of God's ultimate plan in kingdom consummation. Now that's a lot of words, but man, you ought to stew on that. You ought to meditate on that. The coming resurrection of the righteous is an integral part of God's ultimate plan in kingdom consummation. We will rise again. That's part of God's big plan. And he emphasizes this to them. He then goes on in this chapter to explain how empty and how meaningless serving Jesus is if there is no resurrection. And then last week we talked a little bit about the drastic change that is going to take place in the body of every believer. What is sown in weakness will be raised in power. What is sown, that body that is placed in the ground, a mortal body will be raised an immortal body. That which is sown natural will be raised spiritual. That is coming when Christ returns again. And now, as Paul reaches the apex of his argument, he wants to be crystal clear that our hope for eternal glory rest in the finished work of Jesus of Nazareth. Our hope, our victory is not because of ourselves, but because of the victory that Jesus won in our behalf. And so he begins this now as we'll make our way through this text in verse 50 by laying out an affirmation, an affirmation. And here it is, and this is something you need to think on. He says in verse 50, now this I say, brethren, flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom. Let me quickly interject that the kingdom of God is something we all think too little about and know too little about, and it's something that Jesus spoke about a lot. And it is something that we should give some study and time into ourselves. But hear what he says. Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom. Now for those who may not have been here, in verse 12 Paul says that there are some in the church who are suggesting, even teaching, that there is no coming resurrection. And so Paul is rebuffing that, he's arguing against that by giving this affirmation, yes it's true. that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom, the corruptible cannot inherit incorruption unless something changes. And so he will get to that change in just a moment, but first he gives this affirmation. Paul is simply saying like this, You can't go in there like that. You can't go in there looking like this. You can't go into heaven like you are. Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom. This idea of the kingdom here is really the ultimate end, the consummation, the culmination, the fulfillment of all things when Christ rules and reigns, when He comes and lays claim to this earth, when the end comes. Paul is saying this, and I don't want to be insensitive, but it's just a fact. The older you get, the weaker you get. Now isn't that a fact? Your body will begin to shut down. Its organs will begin to stop functioning properly. We are made of dust, and to dust we will return. Now that is a fact for everyone in this room. We will all ultimately face death and flesh and blood, and that's what you are and that's what I am. We are flesh and blood. Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom. You can't go into heaven like you are. Something has to change. We are weak. We are corruptible. Our bodies are given over to sin and decay and nothing. that is so weak, so frail, so fragile, nothing like that will ever be able to stand before the omnipotent of the universe. If you're gonna stand before the triune holy God, something's gonna have to change. You could not, we could not stand in the presence of God in these mortal bodies. Go all the way back to the Old Testament, Moses said, show me your glory. God said, I'll show you a little bit, but in order that I do not consume you, I've got to hide you behind the rock. And he put Moses behind the cliff to the rock and just showed Moses a glimpse of his glory. And that little bit that Moses got made his face shine. We in these weak mortal bodies could not stand in the presence of the Holy God. We have to be changed. Something has to happen. Corruption cannot inherit incorruption. Now most of us, we've seen these astronauts. Have you not seen these astronauts bouncing around in space? Perhaps they are doing some experiment or maintenance on a space shuttle floating in orbit. Perhaps they are working in or on the International Space Station. But here's my question. Have you ever seen one of those astronauts floating around in space? wearing a t-shirt and shorts and flip-flops? No, they are covered in a space suit, right? They've got on this outer garment, this protection. Why is that? And it is because the human body could not withstand the extreme rigors of space. A space suit is required. Our bodies are designed for life down here, not up there. But I'm not just talking about space. I'm not just talking about NASA. Our bodies were designed for life down here, not for life up there. Do you get it? Bigger picture beyond the third heavens, where God himself dwells. Our bodies, flesh and blood, are designed and work great here on earth for a while, but they will not work in the presence of the Almighty. A change must be made. So Paul here affirms something's got to happen. If flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom, as verse 50 says, and corruption cannot inherit incorruption, how are we going to get to heaven? The answer is, very simply, there has to be a transformation. A transformation. So Paul moves from an affirmation to a transformation. And he says here in verse number 51, behold, take notice, slow down, pay attention. Behold, I show you a mystery. And that word mystery means, just simply means that something that was unknown in the past but has now been revealed. Something that has been made known, something that has been made clear. And what is this that Paul wants to make clear? What is this mystery that he expounds upon? It is the transformation of the body of every believer. Notice what he says. This is so beautiful. In verse 51, Behold, I show you, let me reveal this to you, let me make it plain. Those of you who are denying the resurrection, you don't understand, let me help you understand. We shall not all sleep. He's not talking about, be careful, what some folk do in church. He's talking about being dead. That's what he's talking about. We shall not all sleep. He has used that language again and again. And in his familiar language to Paul, he talks about those who are dead in Christ are simply asleep in Christ. Right? And so he says, not all of us will sleep. In other words, not all of us will be dead, but here, but we shall all be changed. Now, there's a lot to be said about this. Let me pull a few things from it. All right. Now, whether we are alive or whether we are dead, when Jesus comes back, we're all going to be changed. Now that we belongs to the believer and we'll expound that a little bit more in just a moment. Now I don't know when Jesus is coming and neither do you. But if you wanna go to that place that Jesus has gone to prepare for his bride, then you need to be ready to go. So that when he comes and that trumpet sounds, you will be gathered up together with his children and ushered up into heaven. Now none of us know when it's going to be, but whether we are alive. Now listen, here it is. I believe in an imminent return of Christ. Christ could come at any moment. And we don't know when it is. It could be today, it could be tomorrow, it could be a hundred years or a thousand years from now. I don't know when He's going to come. As we look around us, we see the signs of the times. I believe we're living in the last of the end times. I believe Christ could come back at any moment. But listen, whether or not you are alive when Christ comes back, or whether you are dead and in the ground, if you are a Christian, you're going to be changed. You're going to come up out of the ground. Or you may be walking around, but you're going to be changed. There is no guarantee. that when Jesus comes back, America will still be here, Canada, Australia, Soviet Union, any countries may come and go, but I can tell you this, there's still going to be some Christians around when Jesus comes back. And further than that, the church that Jesus started will still be around when He comes back. And they will still be proclaiming the glorious good news of Jesus Christ when He comes. So whenever that time is, whenever He comes back, whether you are alive or whether you are dead, you are going to change. And that ought to be enough to make you say, well, praise the Lord for that. Because I know I'm weak, I'm frail, I'm mortal, I'm earthly. I know I am made from the dust and unless something happens, I'm gonna go back to the dust and stay there. Well, here is the glorious good news that Paul affirms to them, there is a coming transformation. You, Christian, will be changed. Just as surely as you are saved, you have trusted in the finished work of Jesus of Nazareth for the forgiveness of your sins, whether you are alive or whether you are asleep, when Christ comes back, you will be gloriously transformed. You're going to be you, but you're going to be a better you. You're going to be made into the likeness of Jesus Christ. He was the firstfruits, And as the firstfruits were good, pure, holy and just, so will the harvest be. When He comes and that trumpet sounds, we will be brought from mortal to immortality, from death to life. It's coming. And it ought to give you some comfort, dear Christian. We don't know when this is going to be. In fact, if you want to turn over 1 Thessalonians chapter number four as a companion passage to this, 1 Thessalonians chapter number four, Paul tells the Thessalonians the same thing, very similar to what he tells the Corinthians. The dead in Christ will rise. 1 Thessalonians chapter four, Verse 13, God's word says, but I would not have you to be ignorant or unaware, brethren, concerning them which are asleep. Again, there's that same language, 1 Thessalonians 4. I would not have you be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that you sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. Now listen to the language of that. Those of you who are way too well acquainted with death, who have stood by the graveside of a loved one, just as surely as they were born again believers, God's Word says to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. They are there with Him, and when Christ comes back, He's going to bring them back. That soul, that spirit, that inner part of them, whatever that it is, is going to come back with Him, and then what's going to happen? When that trumpet sounds, that body, and it doesn't matter, listen to me, it doesn't matter what the molecular makeup of that body is now, whether they were cremated, whether they were buried, whether they were burned at the stake as Christians of the past, whether or not they were drowned in the sea, whether they were buried at sea, it doesn't matter. God, who created everything out of nothing, is keeping track of the bodies of His beloved children. And when He says to His Son, Son, go bring My children home, that He's going to bring that soul and spirit back with Him. And now what it says, will God bring with Him? He's going to bring that, and He's going to reunite body and soul in the air. That body of that loved one is going to come up out of the grave. And just like that, it's going to change. In fact, it's too slow. I'll get there in just a minute. It's going to be faster than that. It's going to change. We're going to be made like Jesus, conformed unto the perfection of His image. Not look just like Him, but we will take on His characteristics of holiness and purity and goodness and leave these old weak, sinful bodies behind. That's what's going to happen. Again, 1 Thessalonians 4 verse 15, For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain under the coming of the Lord shall not prevent or really precede them which are asleep. For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we, you want to know what's going to happen in the end times? Go to the book. The book will tell you, God's word will tell you. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort, one another with these words. My daddy used to say it like this, those saints that have been buried, they going to have a six foot head start on us. They're down in the ground. That body is laid down in the ground, asleep in Jesus. But here comes the Holy Messiah coming down, and the archangel is going to shout, that trumpet is going to blow, and in the air Christ will return, and when He does, He's going to raise those bodies up out of the ground. No matter where they are, no matter what condition they're in, they're going to come up out of there. And He's going to reunite body and soul and instantaneously transform us into our glorified bodies. You know why that's going to happen? Because we have victory in Jesus. That's why it's going to happen. Not because of your strength, your might, or your ability. You can't do it, but God can do it for you. And that's going to happen one of these days. And that's why He says, comfort one another. With these words, isn't there some comfort in that? That we don't have to sorrow as others which have no hope. There are those that don't have that hope, don't have that assurance. They don't know what life is after this. The Christian knows this is not it. There's more to come. There's a life bigger than this, greater than this, better than this, and it's coming. What a glorious day, indeed, when the soul and spirit of every believer will be reunited. And we who are alive, if I'm alive, I don't know, we're just going to be called up together. With those who are asleep, we're going to be called up together. I like the way the old bluegrass boys used to sing. And if I could sing, this is where I'd sing. When the saints from every nation will lose their gravitation, and the twinkling of an eye be called away. That's going to happen. This old world ain't going to lay hold on us forever. There's a better day going to dawn. Christ is coming. How quickly is this transformation going to happen? Look at verse 52. And this gets faster, just hang on. But you only get one preaching act a day, so I want to make sure you get your money's worth while you're here. Verse 52, how quickly is this transformation going to take place? The Bible says in a moment. Interesting, interesting Greek word. And if I butcher this, I apologize, but it is the Greek word atomos, atomos. And it is actually the word where we get our English word atom from, A-T-O-M, atom. is an atom small? Beyond microscopic, right? Teeny tiny fraction. The word quite literally means that which cannot be divided. Go back to the first century, long before atomic bombs were invented. The word literally means that which cannot be separated or divided. Now listen, Normally, we grow older, we grow weaker, our bodies decay, our bodies shut down. This is a long process. I say long, this life is short. It'll be here and be gone before you know it. But it is a drawn out process. The decaying, the weakening, The revealing of our own mortality. It is drawn out, but let me tell you what, that transformation is not going to be drawn out. It's going to be instantaneous. In a moment. Just faster than you can bat your eye in the twinkling of an eye. Faster than a blink. Is that fast? That's how fast your body is going to be changed. What a glorious comfort this is for us as individuals who are Christians and also for those who we know and love who have died and who are now asleep in Christ, that in the moment, in the twinkling of an eye, their weak bodies that have been laid to rest are going to be raised in power. What comfort that that is for us. When the trump sounds, verse number 52 says, in the moment of twinkling of an eye, at the last trump. And I hate it. You know, I'm going to be honest with you, and some of you will get this, and some of you may not, but I hate it when the Bible gets in the way of what I believe. Every once in a while, the Bible gets in the way of what I believe. I already made up my mind what I believe, and then the Bible teaches me something. But the text does say, at the last trump. Isn't that what it says? I'm pre-trib, pre-meal. I believe Christ is coming back prior to tribulation before the millennial reign. I'm going to have to say I don't believe the last means the last of every Trump. I'm going to think it means the last of this time period or this age. But yet, I've got to try to make room for some people who have enough sense to just let the text say what it says, and when it says last, they believe last. But either way, Christ is coming back, and you need to be ready. This passage makes it clear that in the moment of the twinkling of an eye at that trump, and I like the language here in verse number 52. Notice the definitive nature of this transformation. The trumpet shall sound, the dead shall be raised, and we shall be changed. There is a transformation coming. We will be made different. Whether we are alive or dead, we will be made different. But Paul moves on from this transformation and gives a little bit more detail in verses 53 and 54 of a confirmation, a confirmation. Verse 53, in fact, if you're in the habit of marking things in your Bible, there's an interesting analogy here. 53 and 54, listen to Paul's language. For this corruptible, And it's almost as if he's tapping himself in the chest right here when he says that. This body, this corruptible body, this body must put on. And that's the idea of just simply getting dressed or changing a garment. That's what it is. This corruptible must put on incorruption. Verse 53, this mortal must put on immortality. Do you see how He is confirming for them, this will happen. It will happen. And then in verse 54, So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, then this mortal shall have put on immortality. It's almost as if Paul is saying, I know that I am going to be transformed. I promise you, I affirm you, I can confirm to you that I am going to be changed. Folks, if you would just meditate on this. This body, which is corruptible, weak, mortal, perishable, earthly, is going to change. It's going to change. This fragile body, this natural body, this finite body, this imperfect body is going to change. For it must put on immortality. It must put on incorruption. This must happen for the child of God. I like the way he says it must happen. You want to know why it must happen? I'll give you two reasons why that must happen. It must happen, number one, because God said it's going to. And that'll preach right there. It must happen because God says this change, this transformation that He is confirming, it must happen because it's part of God's plan. This is what God is going to do. But secondly, it must happen because you can't go in there like that. You can't go in there looking like that. You have got to be changed before you can stand before the Almighty. That's why it must happen. And then here, Paul confirms this by quoting some Scripture. You want confirmation that this is going to happen? Paul begins to quote Scripture to them. Glorious Scripture from Isaiah, chapter 25, verse 8, where God, Isaiah, and he's in a sense talking to Israel, but it's not limited to Israel. In Isaiah 25, verse 8, it says that God is going to swallow up death. Swallow up death. That word means to devour. You know what we're going to do in here to that food out there in the fellowship hall in a little while? We're going to swallow it up. We're going to devour it. Because that's what good Baptists do, right? We're going to get a hold of it. We're going to consume it. And that's what God is going to do with death one of these days. He's going to devour it. He's going to destroy it. He's going to overcome it. And if you keep reading right there in Isaiah, it says, "...and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." Now you say, I thought that was in Revelation. Yeah, it is in Revelation, but Isaiah said it was going to happen too. Isn't that glorious comfort, dear saint? To know that death is going to die. Death has an expiration date. God is going to destroy death. And now with Revelation 20 verse 4 or 5 right in there where it says, death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. It's going to go away. What a glorious confirmation this is. We have victory in Jesus. And then the certainty of this confirmation And this transformation leads Paul, fourthly, to celebration. To celebration. And I like this, the close of verse 54, he quotes Scripture. And then in verse 55, and I'm going to just say it like this. Paul is so sure of what is going to happen that he begins to taunt death. Paul actually personifies death in the grave long enough for him to ridicule him a little bit. Long enough where he can jest at death. Any of us want to be so bold? He personifies death in the grave long enough where he can jeer at it. Sneer at it. And ask a couple sarcastic rhetorical questions. Notice his celebration A victory. In verse number 55, O death, where is thy sting? Where is it? Death, you so big, so bad, everybody's afraid of you. Where's your sting? I don't see it. Grave, you think you won? Where's your victory? You don't have a trophy. God has the trophy. He's the victor, and we too will join in that victory parade. He taunts death, taunts the grave. Now you've got to understand, this is a man, is it not, who had faced death a number of times already? The Apostle Paul had faced death, had looked at him eyeball to eyeball, and he just says, death, you think you got me? I got news for you. I am more than a conqueror through Jesus Christ that loved me. Grave, you think you got a hold on me? You can't hold me any more than you held Jesus. And just as surely as Jesus Christ came out of the grave victorious over death and hell, so too shall every Christian. There is his celebration of victory. Friends, death has no sting for the child of God. That doesn't mean that no Christian has ever suffered at death or Christians ever suffered before death. It just means that death doesn't win in the end. Death has not won the battle. The grave is not the victor. In fact, he helps explain this in verse 56 where he says, the sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. So Paul just, he sort of uses an illustration. And here's what he's saying. Paul is saying all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. We've all transgressed the perfect law of God. The poison of sin is already coursing through our veins. And it will. The wages of sin is death, right? Ultimately, sin will have its payday. The poison will take its toll. Death will come. And it is empowered because of the law. We've broken God's law. But listen to what He is saying. Just like a bee, when it stings its victim, it leaves the stinger behind. Paul is saying Jesus Christ was stung by the poison of sin, And He left death and sin and the grave left a stinger in Jesus and it can no longer affect us. It can no longer poison us. It can no longer harm us because Christ bore that poison, paid our debt, suffered our stead, and He paid what we owe. There is the glorious victory we have. He took in Himself our sin in His body that we could be made the righteousness of God in Him. He took that sting away. He tasted death for every man. He paid the price we owe. And what Paul is simply saying right here is death will come, but it's not going to win. They may put me in the grave, but I'm going to come out of there. And the reason why I know is I've got victory in Jesus. I'm going to come out of there. Death has no power. The grave will not be the victor. I'm coming out of there because Christ took the sting of death in my place. And I hope that you can say the same thing today. I hope that you can say that the poison of sin no longer has power over me because the blood of Jesus has washed me whiter than snow. Can you say that? Do you know that to be a fact today? Have you trusted in the finished work of Jesus of Nazareth? Paul ends this section with what I call the resurrection shout. A praise of glory. Thanks be to God. Verse 57, but thanks be to God. I'm guilty before God, I've broken God's law, I stand condemned before God, but God. The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life. I stand condemned. Death has power over me. The grave has a hold over me. And without Christ, I am hopeless but God. Here is this glorious interjection, but thanks be to God, which gives us the victory. Folks, for the Christian, and I like this, Death has been declawed, defanged, disarmed, and soon will be destroyed. The debt has been paid. Death will be gone. Darkness and despair are going to disappear, all because we have victory in Jesus. Now I know that death has come. and invaded the homes of many of you sitting here today. It has robbed you of time and the future that you long for with a loved one. But I want you to hear this. If you are in Christ, death will not win. The grave will not be the victor. You and your loved one who was trusting in Christ, they will be victorious. When reality hits you from the graveside. When you are standing in the funeral home choosing caskets. When the doctor says there's nothing more we can do. It may seem like evil has the upper hand, that Satan has won, that death has conquered and the grave is the victory, but hold on, the trumpet hasn't sounded yet. You know, they used to say, you ain't over till the fat lady sings. I'm not interested in hearing no fat lady sing. The trumpet's going to sound one of these days. And when that trumpet sounds, death, hell, and the grave will be destroyed, and all who are in Christ will be victorious on that day. Faith becomes sight. Death will be devoured. Satan cast down. Graves will be emptied. Wickedness will be judged. This mortal will put on immortality. This weak person will put on power. This natural person will put on a spiritual body. Our sins will be gone. We'll be made perfect like Jesus Christ. Folks, that's victory in Jesus. Right now, that may seem a mystery, but for the child of God, we call it victory. In other words, the things that Paul has said today reach out to all who have embraced Christ and promise them a glorious future. Right before church began, we kept playing over and over, the King is coming. I wanted you, I don't know how many of you might have noticed, but I wanted you to start thinking about it. The King is coming. The King is coming. We have a certain victory. Confirmation, affirmation, transformation, celebration is all ours because of Jesus Christ and what He has done. A mother's love, and some saliva might clean you up, but it takes the love of God and the blood of Jesus to wash away your sins. I would ask you a question. How are you gonna get from here to heaven? Just, I dare you to think about it. How are you gonna get from here to heaven? Well, let me give you an answer. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes under the Father but by me. That's the way through faith in the finished work of Jesus. You know the fountain of youth never has yet been discovered, but you can drink from the water of life and live forever. The Lord Jesus Christ. You can have victory in Him. by placing your faith in Him alone. I want to read a scripture to you. And as I read this, I want you to understand that this was probably the oldest event. Now, I'll try to say this well. I'm going to read to you from Job. Job is one of the old patriarchs. Job lived before Moses. That's how old this is. Job would have been more of a contemporary around Abraham, Isaac, Jacob's time. But Job celebrated the victory in Jesus thousands of years ago. Listen to what he said. For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God. Yeah, old Job knew it was a better day coming. Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eye shall behold and not another, though my reins be consumed within me. That's Job 19, 25 through 27. Victory. in Jesus. Now maybe when we stand and sing that song, it'll have a little more oomph to it. Huh? It just gets better. I know this life can knock the wind out of you, but this is not it. I was sitting back here thinking, forgive me and I'll quit. I was sitting back here thinking earlier, I never ran very good at anything. The only reason I got a trophy in Little League is because I gave everybody one. I didn't let her own anything in high school except for laying out. I didn't graduate valedictorian of anything. And in the eyes of this world, I'm pretty much a nobody, but I can tell you this, through Christ, I am a victor. I am more than a conqueror. The victory is mine because of Jesus Christ. And one of these days, I'm going to bow down before Him and cast whatever crowns I have at His feet because He is worthy. And that's not because of what I've done. That's because of what He's done for me. How do you feel today? Would you stand with me? Let's be dismissed.