Is Life Over for Me? Part 2

Today on Summit Life with J.D.

Greer. No more are you and I going to need to be commanded in the ways of God. No more are any of us going to have to urge each other. Know the Lord, press into him. Know knowledge of him is going to fill our hearts like the waters cover the sea. The love of God is going to be poured out on our hearts and we're going to be just like him, John says, because we're going to see him just as he is. Welcome back to Summit Life with J.D. Greer.

As always, I'm your host, Molly Vidovitch. Let me ask you a question. What difference does the resurrection really make? I mean, it was so long ago.

Does it really affect me right now? Well, today, Pastor J.D. teaches the four ways the truth of the resurrection should make a difference in our lives even now, and then ultimately how we can be included in the resurrection to eternal glory someday.

Remember, you can always visit us at jdgreer.com or give us a call at 866-335-5220. But for now, here's Pastor J.D. finishing up our message from 1 Corinthians chapter 15. After establishing the fact of the resurrection, I love this about Paul. Paul hears in his head the objection for a lot of people he's writing to, particularly the disciples of Plato, right? So he articulates, he verbalizes that objection, verse 35. But someone will ask, how are the dead even raised?

With what kind of body do they come? How does this even work? Now, in the following verses, Paul does not fully answer every question, but he does give you the basic parameters for how to think about this. In verse 36, he uses a seed analogy to describe resurrection life. What you sow doesn't come to life unless the verse dies. And what you sow is not the body that is to be. What you sow is just a kernel, a seed of wheat or some other grain. Our physical bodies are like a seed of what we will later become. A seed is made out of the same stuff as the full-grown plant, but the full-grown plant is a lot more complex and a lot awesomer, right?

It's not really a word, but you know what I mean. A watermelon seed and a watermelon are made out of the same stuff, but the watermelon is awesome and complex and rich and colorful. The watermelon seed is just a boring little black teardrop that you spit out of your mouth. Just think, if you as an embryo could somehow have understanding and you could have seen yourself as an adult what you were going to become, it would be hard to believe that you were going to become all of this. I mean, just imagine zygote JD seeing me now, right?

He would be so proud. That's similar to the change we go through again in the resurrection. So if you're taking notes, here's your first answer to Paul's question, what are our resurrection bodies like? Write down awesome, awesome. Verse 37, this body, this body right here compared to my resurrection body is like a watermelon seed compared to the full-grown watermelon.

Y'all, I can't even get my mind around that. I'm going to be athletic, good-looking, limber. I'm going to have no more aches and pains. I won't gain unwanted weight. I suspect I'll be able to fly. I'll probably be able to walk through walls. I say that because Jesus did all those things in his resurrected body and my body's supposed to be like his. It's like I'm going to be a better version of Neo from the Matrix. How amazing is that going to be to just wake up in the morning and just feel awesome immediately? I'm definitely not that way now. I wake up in the morning sore and all I did the night before was sleep.

Somehow rolling from this position to this position is enough to throw me off for the rest of the day. Second quality to write down after awesome, eternal. Verse 42, what's sown is perishable.

What is raised is imperishable. That means no more deterioration. I guess our bodies will have the power of self-regeneration. No more getting old.

No more slow decline where gravity pulls everything the wrong direction. Write down number three, beautiful. Verse 43, it is sown in dishonor. It is raised in glory. Our body is going to be raised in indescribable beauty.

I don't know if you've heard of that. Indescribable beauty. I don't just mean vain beauty, though I think it also includes that. We're talking about real beauty.

The sinless beauty of a soul that is united to God now reflected in a physical body. I've told you before about Joni Eareckson-Tada, who's a woman who's actually very old now, but when she was a teenager, she was involved in a diving accident. She wasn't walking with God at the time, but she was beautiful, popular, athletic, brilliant.

She had it all, but this diving accident left her as a quadriplegic for more than 50 years. Her autobiography is one of the most powerful things that you can ever read. She talks about how God used us to bring her back to him, and she says, I can hardly believe it. I, with shriveled, bent fingers, atrophied muscles, and no feeling from the shoulders down, am one day going to have a new body, light, bright, and clothed in righteousness, powerful and dazzling. Can you imagine the hope this gives somebody with a spinal cord injury, like me, or somebody who is cerebral palsied or brain injured, or somebody who has multiple sclerosis?

Imagine the hope this gives to somebody who is a manic depressive. No other religion, no other philosophy promises new bodies, hearts, and minds. Only in the gospel of Jesus Christ do hurting people find such incredible hope. Right down number four, I guess, powerful. Powerful, verse 43, it is sown in weakness. It is raised, Paul says, in power. Again, I don't even know what all that means. It's spiritual power.

It's physical power. The Bible says we're going to be like Jesus, and in his resurrected body, he could go fishing, eat meat, like I already said, walk through walls and fly. Whatever it is, y'all, I'm in for it. We're not going to need things like walkers or wheelchairs or reading glasses, which is another thing I'm starting to fight now. I'm going to go ahead and warn you right now. One of these days, I'm going to do it without even acknowledging it, to see what I got written down here.

I'm going to have to pull these glasses out and look on it, and you're not allowed to pay attention to it, but it's happening. Joni Eareckson Tada, again, who, and probably my favorite thing she has ever said, I hope I can take my wheelchair to heaven with me. No, I know that's not biblically correct, she said, but I hope to push my wheelchair right on up to the throne of Jesus.

Notice, I'll be walking. And I'm going to say, Jesus, do you see that wheelchair right there? Well, Jesus, you were right when you said that in this world, we would have trouble because that wheelchair was a lot of trouble. But Jesus, the weaker I was in that thing, the harder I leaned on you. And the harder I leaned on you, the stronger I discovered you to be. So thank you for what you did in my life through that wheelchair. Through that wheelchair.

And now, if you will, please send that wheelchair straight to hell. Fifth, I want you to write down spirit filled, verse 44. Paul says it's sown as a natural body, it's raised as a spiritual body. We're going to know the perfect fullness of the spirit, perfect communion with God. The book of Revelation says that we won't even need the light of the sun anymore because the Lord our God will be our lamp and our constant indwelling light. Lastly, verse 49, write down perfectly Christ-like.

Verse 49, just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. No more are you and I going to be needed to be commanded in the ways of God. Y'all not going to have to come listen to me or anybody else teach every week.

No more are any of us going to have to urge each other. Know the Lord, press into him. Know knowledge of him is going to fill our hearts like the waters cover the sea. The love of God is going to be poured out on our hearts and we're going to be just like him, John says, because we're going to see him just as he is.

Church, what is it like? What is it like to wake up one day perfectly in Christ image? To not feel jealousy or hatred or anxiety or worry or dread or suspicion or self-centeredness or impatience or one of the many emotions that come seem to flood my heart almost immediately when my feet hit the floor. Instead to be filled, to be consumed with love, perfect love, to know joy unspeakable in every moment. Psalm 16 11, in your presence is the fullness of joy at your right hand or pleasures forevermore. Fullness of joy means joy that could not get any stronger. Pleasures forevermore means joy that could not last any longer. What is it like to have the eternal joy of the Trinity pulsating inside of my heart?

I can't wait. The Bible promises that in the resurrection, this is what you and I will experience. Paul says, Philippians 3 21, that in the resurrection, our lowly bodies, the greatest one of you in here, the prettiest, the most powerful, most athletic, your lowly body is going to be made like his glorious body. So Paul then finally turns, he says, what difference does all this make to me right now?

Well, what? He says, because of the resurrection, verse 54, death, you see us swallowed up in victory. Death, I can look at the worst things that the world has to offer me and say, grave, where's your victory? Death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin. The strength of sin is the law, but thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ, because he died under the law for my sin.

Therefore it's been removed from me. Therefore, therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, you should be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, because you know, because of the resurrection of Jesus, that in the Lord, your labor is not in vain. Here's Paul's summary of the difference that the truth of the resurrection should make in our lives. Number one, because of the resurrection, death has no more sting for you. Death, whether our own or the death of a loved one is life's hardest experience because it feels so permanent. But y'all, if the resurrection is true, it's not permanent at all. It's just a temporary change of address, because Jesus took the sting out of death. The sting of death is its permanence.

That's what Jesus took into himself on the cross so that when he went through death, because he took the sting of sin, death for us would just be a temporary rite of passage. Sometimes we'll say things like, I lost my dad to cancer, or I lost my wife, or I lost my baby. Friends, you have not lost them.

We know exactly where they are. You've only lost contact with them for a while. That's all you've lost. If they were in Christ, you absolutely will hold, see, and hug them again with your physical arms in the new world. You say, well, what about if my loved one was unsaved? They did experience the sting of death, and because of that, I do too. That's a hard reality.

Honestly, I don't know exactly how to answer. I know that in heaven, our capacity for love is increased, not decreased. I also know that the scripture says that he will wipe away every tear from our eyes and make every sad thing come untrue, which I assume means that somehow we will be at peace with the decisions that people made for themselves. I don't know how it's going to work, but this is one of those places I've just had to learn to trust Jesus in. And Lord, Psalm 131, my eyes are not too haughty. I do not concern myself with matters too great for me. I have calmed and quieted myself like a young child with his mother.

Like a young child, I can rest in your arms content. I trust Jesus even with this. And in the meantime, I plead with everybody that I know and love to come to Jesus. You're listening to Summit Life with J.D.

Greer. Before we get back to today's teaching, I wanted to take a moment to let you know about our newest premium resource, the Gospel Flipbook. There's nothing more important for a disciple of Jesus than spending time in God's Word.

But sometimes it can be tough to know where to start. And that's why we've created this Flipbook. Whether you're reading through the Gospels for the first time or the 101st time, there is always more to unpack. And like Pastor J.D. always says, the Gospel is not just the diving board into Christianity.

It's actually the whole pool. This spiral-bound collection of flashcards will help set the pace as you read through each Gospel. And we've included a lot of really helpful information to help you really get these important books of the Bible. We'll send you your copy as our thanks for your gift to the ministry.

Give us a call at 866-335-5220 or visit jdgreer.com today. Number two, because of the resurrection, Paul says the worst pain, the worst pain is only the light and momentary. Your situation may feel permanent, like I said at the beginning, but it's not. I had a friend a few years ago who was about my age. He had kids about my kids' age who was suddenly and traumatically diagnosed with a very aggressive form of brain cancer they said would kill him between three to five years. Now, miraculously and by the grace of God, he's still alive today. But I remember walking with him as he processed through all of this and remember him saying, he said, a lot of people come up to me and they're very well-meaning. And they say to me, oh, when you get to heaven, you'll see the reason for all this.

And he said, I guess that's probably true. But he said, the more I read about what God is going to do in heaven, when I read about the joy and the glory that he is going to bring us into, I have a feeling that when we get there, we'll look back and say, what pain are you even talking about? I can't even remember the pain so great is the glory and the joy that now has consumed me and filled me. You know, even more, God promises that your pain is actually going to become a part of, it's going to become a contributor to the beautiful thing God's making in you. You see how it says in verse 54, death is swallowed up in victory?

Think about that image. When you swallow something, it becomes part of you. You digest it and it becomes a factor in making you you. That's what Paul said God is doing with our pain. It's not just that we had pain on earth and now we're in the theme park of heaven and we forget all about it. No, there we see how the pain we went through produced in us the incredible beauty and weight of glory and joy that we experience in eternity.

Whatever situation you're in, whatever chronic pain, whatever chronic illness, whatever disappointed dream, bad marriage, being alone, friend, it's all temporary. Paul even calls it light and momentary. That's not to make light of your pain. Paul didn't say that because he'd lived a charmed life free of real pain. No, Paul experienced some of the worst pain possible for a human being to experience betrayal, abandonment, torture, loneliness, chronic illness. But Paul said, even the worst of the worst is light and momentary compared to the weight of glory that God is bringing to me in the resurrection. So friend, are you suffering? Does it appear that this suffering might never go away? Hang on.

You're almost there. In the blink of an eye, this painful life is going to be behind you. The curse of sin is going to be removed and you will be in your awesome, eternal, beautiful, powerful, spirit-filled Christ-like body in a world with no pain or crying, experiencing the fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore in the presence of your savior. I'm not telling you to stop praying for a change in your situation.

Keep praying because we know that some things God only grants after years of persistent prayer. I'm just saying that even in the event that the answer never comes the way you want it to come this side of the grave, I'm telling you the worst that this life has to offer is light and momentary compared to the weight of glory and happiness that awaits you in the resurrection. So we can look with Paul at our worst enemy and we can say, do your worst. You cannot touch the glorious thing that I've got coming in the resurrection. I love how the theologian D.A.

Carson says it. I'm not suffering from anything that a good resurrection can't fix. Number three, because of the resurrection, Paul said, we can press forward with risk-taking, trial-enduring, death-defying obedience to Jesus. I have a special word right now for every missionary who is listening to me, who has walked away from family and fortune and friends to carry the gospel to an unreached place.

And you were listening to this this morning in a place you would honestly prefer not to be. The resurrection says to you, it's going to be worth it. Your sacrifice was great, but it was only temporary.

And Jesus is going to repay you 100 fold in the kingdom to come. And that means if you don't get to come home right now as much as you want, it's okay. Because soon you're going to be home in eternity forever with Jesus and the ones that you love. And you're going to be glad then that you gave your life so that other families could be there along with yours also. Friend, what is it going to be like?

What is it going to be like when you've been there for 10,000 years? And now you've gotten to know intimately and well somebody who came to Christ because of your sacrifice. You don't even know who they are right now, but you're going to know them then. And you're going to know them after 10,000 years, you're going to know them and love them as much as anybody you've ever loved on earth. Don't you think that you're going to be glad then that you made the sacrifices now to see them there forever? Don't you think if anything you'll just wish you'd sacrifice more? For those of you at the Summit Church whose courageous stand for Jesus cost you your reputation or a business opportunity or your job, Jesus sees your sacrifice and soon it's going to be over. You're going to enter your reward where you won't doubt for a second that every sacrifice was worth it. So be bold. Be bold and death-defying in your obedience because only one life to live is soon going to be passed.

Only what's done for Christ is going to last. You know, my mind here has to go to that letter that a very young Adoniram Judson wrote to his prospective father-in-law asking for the hand of this man's daughter. Her name was Anne Haseltine asking for her hand in asking for her hand in marriage. This was the late 1700s and Adoniram Judson, one of the first American missionaries, knew that he was called to take the gospel to the very far off regions of Burma. Listen to this.

That's part of it. I have now to ask you, sir, whether you can consent to part with your daughter early next spring, never to see her again in this world. Whether you can consent to her departure to a foreign, hostile land, knowing that she will endure the hardships and sufferings that go with a missionary life. Whether you can consent to her exposure to the dangers of the ocean, to the fatal influence of the southern climate of South Asia, to every kind of want and distress, to degradation, to insult, persecution, and perhaps even a violent death. Can you consent to all of this for the sake of him who left his heavenly home and died for her and for you, for the sake of perishing eternal souls, for the sake of the resurrected kingdom and the glory of God? Can you consent to all of this in hope of soon meeting your daughter again in the world of glory, now with the crown of righteousness brightened by the acclamations of praise, which shall resound to her savior from the lost who were saved through her sacrifices from eternal woe and despair? It's only belief in the resurrection that compels that kind of obedience, which leads me to the conclusion. Number four, because of the resurrection, living for Jesus is really the only thing that makes sense. See, every one of us has a soul and body.

Both of them are eternal. That means that those of you who are united to Christ, your soul is immediately going to enter the presence and joy of God. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.

There you will await the glorious resurrection of your body to enjoy physically with Jesus forever. Those of you, though, who die apart from Christ, your soul will immediately enter into the judgment of God, and there you also will await the resurrection of your body, but it will not be a resurrection unto eternal happiness, but it will be a resurrection to eternal judgment and misery. Jesus himself said, John 5, the hour is coming when all who are in the tombs are going to hear his voice.

All of us, not just the Christians, all of us are going to hear his voice, and all of us are going to come out. Those who've done good to the resurrection of life and those who have done wickedly to the resurrection of judgment, the book of Revelation and the sea gave up the dead who was in it, and then death and hell gave up the dead that were in them, and they were all judged, each according, every one of them, according to what they had done. And if anybody's name was not found written in the Lamb's book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. That is the second and ultimately the eternal death. Friend, I cannot emphasize to you strongly enough the importance of what you do right now with Jesus. He offers his resurrection to you.

That's what Paul had given his life for people to know. He offers his resurrection to you now if you repent of your sin and submit to him as Lord and Savior. Some of you listening to me right now, you are going to resurrect to eternal glory, and others seated right beside those people. You are going to resurrect to eternal judgment. For those of you that are in Christ, here's the good news. This world is as close to hell as you're ever going to come. The bad news is that for those of you outside of Christ, this world is as close to heaven as you're ever going to get. I mean, even right now, you're tasting some of the good fruits of life.

Even with all its pain and all its misery, life can still be good. But see, in the second death, all that goes away. For those of us in Christ, God is bringing us to a renewed, eternal, physical kingdom, which includes a glorified and perfected version of every beautiful thing we love about the world down here. I can't wait. I've experienced the earthly Hawaii. Imagine what the heavenly one is going to be.

I've experienced the earthly rabbi. I can't wait for the heavenly ones. The question is, which resurrection do you want to be included in?

It's coming for you. You've got a resurrection coming. You want to be in the resurrection to judgment, or do you want to be in the resurrection to life? They found gravestones of early followers of Jesus in places like Corinth.

And when they do, they usually find only one word inscribed on these gravestones. Resurgam, which simply means in Latin, I shall rise again. Let's inscribe that word on our hearts, because Paul said it will fundamentally reshape how we live.

than by reflecting on the life of the one that we remember, Jesus Himself. Immerse yourself in the message of the gospel and share that same hope with those around you. We'll send you a copy with our thanks when you support the Bible Teaching Ministry of Summit Life with a gift of $35 or more. Just give us a call at 866-335-5220.

That's 866-335-5220. Or you can always donate online at jdgrier.com. That's jdgrier.com. While you're on the website, you can also sign up for our email list. This is to get ministry updates, information about new resources, and Pastor JD's latest blog post delivered straight to your inbox.

It's a great way to stay connected with Summit Life, and it's completely free to subscribe. Sign up when you go to jdgrier.com. I'm Molly Vidovitch inviting you to join us tomorrow for a special Easter message titled, Because He Lives. See you Thursday right here on Summit Life with J.D. Greer. Today's program was produced and sponsored by J.D. Greer Ministries.