1 Corinthians 15. And our message today is victory
and vision, victory and vision. And our text is in the last two
verses of this chapter, 1 Corinthians 15, 57 and 58. The victory is
in verse 57. And the vision is in verse 58. So let's read these two verses
of Scripture. But thanks be to God, which giveth
us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved
brethren, be you steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work
of the Lord, for as much as you know that your labor is not in
vain in the Lord. There had been a question among
these Corinthian believers. There had been false teaching
concerning the resurrection. And in this lengthy chapter,
almost the entirety of it is made up of Paul, the apostle,
declaring the blessed truth of the bodily resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead. and also the promise of our being
raised bodily at His coming and given at that time a body like
unto His glorious body. Now, I know there's a lot of
question about that, a lot of maybe gray area in that, and
I don't try to figure it all out. It is not that these sin-cursed
bodies are going to be raised. Paul said in this chapter that
we're planted a mortal, going to be raised immortal, planted
a corruptible, and raised incorruptible. We're going to be given a body. This body, as Adam, our first
father, you know, was created from the dust of the earth. And
this body, at what we call death, is going back to the dust from
whence it came, the scripture says. Somebody said, well, what
about what about those that are cremated? What about those that
burned up in a house fire? What about those that were blown
to bits and pieces with a bomb? What about those that were eaten
by alligator? The list goes on and on. Well,
hey, God Almighty knows how to give a body like unto his
glorious body to every one of his people. And that's his promise.
That's his promise. So now, Paul has declared the
truth in this lengthy chapter about the resurrection of Christ,
also the promise of our being raised at his coming, given a
body without sin, likened to his glorious body. It is in light
of these first 56 verses that Paul makes this statement of
thanksgiving and victory, which he makes in verse 57. But thanks
be to God which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus
Christ. This is not something we have
to wonder about. This is not something debatable. It is certain. It is certain.
Back in the sixth chapter of this epistle and the 14th verse,
we read that God hath both raised up the Lord Jesus Will also raise
up us by his own power. I believe that I believe that
Romans chapter 8 verse 11, but if the spirit of him that raised
up Jesus from the dead dwell in you He that raised up Christ
from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his spirit
that dwelleth in you so this victory is Paul is declaring
is a victory over death. Christ our Lord has conquered
death. He has kicked both ends out of
the grave so that all we have to do is walk through with no
fear and no dread. This victory is no temporary
victory. It will not end in time. It will
not end in eternity. Paul is thanking God that instead
of putting such characters as you and I are in hell, he has
given us victory. Even us who deserve nothing but
hell, he has given us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Now look at the present tense
in this verse. Not only has he given, past tense,
victory in Christ forever, but for you and I to battle against
the struggles, the hardships, the sins, the evils of this life,
we see the present tense word here in verse 57, giveth, G-I-V-E-T-H. That's right now. That's right
now. That's this morning. He giveth
us the victory over sin, over suffering, over sorrow, over
shame, over Satan, over death, over the grave, over hell. He giveth us the victory through
our Lord Jesus Christ. After that verse, Paul gives
us the vision he has for the people of God in this world. Therefore, my beloved brethren,
be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the
Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in
the Lord. I do not believe there's ever
been a time in the history of the church when the need for
steadfastness was any greater than it is today. There is a fallen nature in us. Our flesh lacks the ability and
the desire to be faithful to God, and that will not change
while you live and breathe in this world. The devil does everything in
his power to get you to throw in the towel and quit. Just do something else on Sundays.
Lay down all your convictions. Be like the unbelieving world.
Just give it up. And say, what's the use? What can I say to you? Many,
many, many. are the great men and women of
God who came near to doing just that. Every bit as near as you've
come. I think of Elijah. I think of
Job. I think of Jeremiah. And I understand
that they were just men of like passions as we are. But God. And this is always the answer,
but God. He's the reason why that any
one of us is still here today, but God. He is the difference
today. He has been the difference through
the years and he will be the difference next year. and tomorrow
and from now on, not you, not I, but God, but God. I have tried, and most of you
know this, through the years to be honest with you about who
God is and about what I believe this book teaches. And I confess I cannot describe
him to be as wonderful and as powerful and as sovereign and
as holy and as loving as I know He is. But in my message, I have
had some buck against it. I have had some to say, too much
grace, not enough law. You need to tell us to do better. or God will be
mad at us. You've got to tell us God loves
all men as much as He loves any man. You've got to tell us He loves
Judas Iscariot as much as He loved the Apostle Paul. You've got to tell us if we choose
God, He'll choose us. But dear friends, this morning
I cannot, in my heart, Put God on the little end like that. I preach God to be as big as
I can possibly believe and say that he is. But he's bigger than that. And that don't suit a lot of
people, but that's who he is. And that's what Paul has said
in verse 57. Our God is He who raised His
Son from the dead. And we who were in His Son from
eternity are raised with Him and seated with Him in the heavenlies. A lot of folks saying, oh, I
sure hope I make it. Oh, oh, if you knew the gospel,
if you knew Christ, You would understand, it's already made.
We're already, this is Ephesians 2, we're already seated in the
heavenlies in Him. You read the book of the Revelation,
chapter 4, chapter 5, chapter 4, several of those chapters,
you'll find that John saw a company of every kindred, nation, and
tongue, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, a number innumerable. What was John saying? He's saying
you've already been seen there and you're wondering if you're
going to make it. It's done. It's done. What a privileged
company indeed is God's church, God's elect, God's people. Now, before I speak a little
about verse 58, Paul's vision here and his exhortation for
us. I want to tell you something
about an old evangelist that I met one time years ago. His name was Vance Havener. He's been gone for quite a few
years now, and I had the privilege of hearing him preach. And he
used to tell this story. He said, when I was a boy, I
liked to read. I'd read books about cops and
robbers. I'd read books about cowboys
and outlaws. But he said, I'd always read
the last chapter first and then go back to the beginning
and start through it. He said, I did that so when the
good guys would get in real danger and were certain to be killed,
I'd encourage them. And I'd say, don't worry. Everything's
going to be all right. Don't be afraid. And when the
bad guys would be so close to getting away with their crimes,
Scott Free, he said, I'd scold them. And
I'd tell them, you're not getting away with it. They'll get you. Then old Havner would say, God's
word tells us who wins. The last chapter is already written. God declared the end from the
beginning, and it's going to come out that way. In this life, with all its strife,
We are in the middle of the story. Things look rough, but we know
who wins. What are we going to do about
the White House? Same thing you've done about it last time, nothing.
What are you going to do about the price of gas? Same thing
you've been doing about it, pay it. God is running things. Christ
is the winner and all who are His are winners in Him. We're not winners in ourselves
by our own efforts. We can't be, but we are winners
in Him. We're on the winning side. I
want to say this morning with Sister Desi's homegoing this
week, Our hearts are on this matter. The years of our lives
are swiftly passing by. There is a great need for men,
fathers, grandfathers, to be steadfast men. There is
a great need for ladies mothers, grandmothers, to be steadfast. We're too far up the road now
to get all tore up over little whims and who said this and who
did that. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
no. We are the people of God on our way home. The Greek word
used here for steadfast in this verse, it means seated, immovable,
a fixed position. It is translated in Colossians
123, settled, settled, steadfast. I want to share four things. briefly
with us this morning. I trust God will use these things
to quicken our hearts to be steadfast believers. Number one, the planting
of the Lord is a miracle of grace. The planting of the Lord is a
miracle of grace. We're in a religious generation
of take it or leave it. You can be a part of it or not
be a part of it. People talk you into it. The
devil talk you out of it. Somebody try to talk you back
into it. Devil talk you back out of it. See, it's not that
little game. It's not that little game. The
planting of the Lord. Is a miracle of his grace. Matthew
chapter 15, Christ said. Every plant. Which my heavenly
father hath not planted. shall be rooted up. You need to look for that verse.
Every plant which my heavenly father hath not planted shall
be rooted up. Religion in our time is so warped
until churches are full of people who have no heart for the Lord
and have not been planted by the Lord. That's why so-called
churches have to delve in everything from circus to matchmaking, you
name it, to keep people in. But our Lord
said every plant which my Heavenly Father had not planted shall
be rooted up. If you have been quickened to
life by God's Spirit, if you have been granted faith to believe
God's truth, if you have been given a heart to worship and
honor God, I want to say to you, none of that was accidental.
None of that was coincidental. It is the planting of the Lord.
Don't take it lightly. Don't take it for granted. God
chose you, not just to go be with Him when you die, but He
planted you to live in this life and to glorify Him in this world
and to bloom where He had planted you. I have thought in recent days
several times how blessed it is that Sister Desi was here almost
every Sunday unless she was sick, something wrong. For many months
now, two or three years now, she had joined our church. And
she was one of us. She would listen to the gospel. She would listen to the truth
of God's word and receive it and loved it. That meant so much
to me. I can only imagine what it means
now to Betty, to Scott. These great grandchildren, to
Landon, And Bella, I'm sure Landon and Bella saw
her sometimes through the week, but you know where they saw her
the most? In her regular spot in the assembly
of the Lord's people on Sunday morning. You parents and grandparents
think about that before you quit church. Do you really want those babies
to remember that your big thing was working in the garden on
Sunday? Do you really want those babies
to remember that your big thing was going to the lake on Sunday? No, you don't. God has given
us a blessed fellowship, he's given us some children here in
the church, I believe of his planting, who don't have any parents with
a heart for God, and some maybe with one parent. Has it dawned on you that we're
their family? God has planted them here. The Lord might would have you
take one of them as a special project to talk to every Sunday and encourage
and minister to them and their heart, the blessedness of being
faithful to the Lord. It'd be pretty hard to do every
Sunday if you're not here, but once a month, wouldn't it? Hello. I'm thinking of a man right now,
I'm just talking to you plain this morning. I'm thinking of
a man a number of years ago, the Lord moved him into a place
of influence. Most of his siblings were unbelievers. And I watched the Lord make him
a strong influence in the lives of others. his own family, his own children
and grandchildren. I watched the Lord work a special
connection through the children to a related widow and her children. Another broken family and children. They all had great confidence
and respect for this man. And God, I believe in my heart,
arranged all that. But something went wrong, not
with God, but with him. And so far as I know this morning,
that man is not in church. His children are not in church. It's not my purpose to judge
the man. I grieve for him. I grieve for
him often. And I cry, oh, Lord, don't let
me go that way. Don't let me lose heart. Don't
let me fall out with your people. Don't let me lose sight of the
fact that you have planted me where I am. Lord, you've honored me far above
anything I could ever deserve. And I pray, help me, Lord, not
to take it lightly. You should do the same. Not only are the plantings of
the Lord a great miracle of grace, but secondly, the paths I'm given
to walk are not without purpose. I really don't like this one
sometimes. And you don't either. But I must say it, the paths
I'm given to walk are not without purpose. We're faced with situations
which we don't know what to do or how to do. At times there's
nothing we can do. We feel so inadequate and we feel so guilty. that we
can't do any better than we do. We have to make decisions that
we know we're incapable of making. There are times, Peter said,
that it's needful that we are in heaviness through manifold
temptations, trials, burdens. Why? He told us why, what God's
purpose was, that the trial of your faith being much more precious than
of gold that perishes. Did you know this morning, believers,
that your faith is much more precious than gold? I'm not talking about that. that humanistic mustered up confidence
that you think is a view. I'm talking about that living,
that vibrant faith to believe God. And you cannot disbelieve
what he has brought you to believe. It's more precious than gold.
All the gold. God could have left you in that
low life of unbelief that you're constantly tempted to go back
to. But he hadn't. He hadn't. He's
brought you into paths you would never have chosen for yourself. But he says they're for our good
and his glory. It's time to confess. God is
not your enemy. He's your friend. He can be trusted. And my prayer is, Lord, help
me to understand. Help me to confess. Help me to
plead. Lord, if you don't lead me in
the paths of righteousness, I'll certainly not walk in them. There's a rebel in this creature
that hates God. And he's in you, too. We don't say it out loud, but
we prove it. We know it. There's something in here that
would say of those in Jesus' day, we will not have this man
to rule over us. But thank God for a new creation.
that does want to bow to Him, that does want to honor Him.
Oh, my. But there's the old man, there's
the old nature that hates God. Fooey on this garbage of you
making your own decisions and living your own life. Oh, no,
you don't. If the Lord don't strengthen,
if the Lord don't guide Hell will have a heyday with
you and all you have and your life
and your influence. Third thing, the measure of progress
God enables us to experience in life is more than we deserve. We spend a lot of time whining
that we can't knock a home run every time. Forgetting that we don't even
deserve to be on the team, let alone in the game. True success consists of one
thing. Submission to God. That's all. That's all. what the fruit of
that submission is, how it looks to everybody else, that's God's
business, not ours. We're called to participate in the good fight of faith. We're
not called to keep score. That's God's business. But we are so imprisoned. Is anybody listening? We are
so imprisoned. Most of us are, by what others
think. What a prison that is. But if everybody in the world
thinks you're a success in life, that don't make you a success. If everybody in the world thinks
you're a failure, that don't make you a failure. But to submit to and be content
with God's will, God's way, God's time, that's progress. Far more progress than we deserve. It's not ours to dominate, certainly
not ours to dictate. but it is ours to dedicate all
that we are and all that we have to the Lord. Number four, and
I'll be through, the peace God affords to the hearts of those
who love Him with all their hearts. It's a peace that passeth understanding. It's a peace that so overwhelms
you and forbids you to worry. And at the same time, your brain
is telling you, you ought to be worrying yourself to death. Talking to us about being steadfast,
unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as
much as you know, You don't have to wonder about this for as much
as you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. It may seem to be in vain in
this world. The enemy will tell you you're
nothing. You can do nothing. What's the point? But your labor is not in vain In Luke chapter 16, there was
a certain beggar named Lazarus who was laid at the gate of a
rich man's palace. He was full of sores, the Bible
said, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the
rich man's table. Moreover, the dogs came. and
licked his sores. What a miserable wretch of a
man. A total failure in life, we'd
say. Could he not have done better
than that? Nobody wants to die like that. But his story didn't begin there.
And his story don't end there. What all God's purposes were,
we do not know. But we do know this, that when
he died, he was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. He couldn't have done better. The world said he couldn't have
done worse. But the outcome is he couldn't have done better
than to have been carried by the angels into the Lord's presence. In 1 Kings 21, a godly man named
Naboth would not forfeit his inheritance, a vineyard that
wicked King Ahab wanted You may know that story, 1 Kings 21,
Naboth was lied on, he was falsely accused, he was condemned, he
was killed. But he wasn't a failure. He couldn't have done better
than to cling to God and God's inheritance to him. And neither
can you. You can do no better! then cling
to God and His promises, His Word, His truth, come what may
in this world. John the Baptist preached six
months, got his head chopped off. What a tragedy. No, he couldn't
have done better. He couldn't have done better.
There is a peace in the hearts of those who yield everything
to God. And this verse of exhortation
from Paul to the Corinthians and by divine inspiration from
the Holy Ghost to us is of great importance to your heart and
mine this morning. And I trust the Lord would use
it to speak to the hearts of his children. I know some of
you are going to leave here, get out this door and it's just
going to be like water off a duck's back. And it'll be just another
Sunday. I've gone through the motions.
But you, the Lord's children, look at this. Therefore, that
is on the basis that God has fixed everything and we have
victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, My beloved
brethren, be you steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work
of the Lord. For as much as you know that
your labor is not in vain in the Lord. Stand with me.