The Great Escape

Well, it's 2012. In case you hadn't noticed that or adjusted to writing that date yet, it is 2012. This is the year that many people believe the world will come to an end. This is the year that many people believe the ancient Mayan civilization in Central America prophesied that the world would come to an end in 2012 because their calendar projecting into the future stops with the Winter Solstice December 21, 2012. Now I must say that most scholars who study the Mayan civilization do not believe that's what they were indicating. They believe that the Mayans were simply saying there will be a new phase of time. They have a word for that which begins on December 21, but that has not stopped. A lot of doomsday end of the world theories arising centered around the year 2012. One of the most popular of those in our culture was the 2009 movie simply entitled 2012. In that particular movie, a scenario based upon the ancient prophecies, supposedly from the Mayan calendar and others, a scenario is developed in which increasingly large solar flares cause the Earth's core to heat, leading to the destabilization of the Earth's crust, which leads to huge earthquakes and tsunamis that bring the world as we know it to an end. In the movie, they become aware of this. In 2010, the announcement is made to heads of state and they begin to prepare for the end of the world as we know it. Moving on in that movie, the president of the United States gathers other world leaders together at the G8 summit and makes this announcement of what they have just discovered to be certain. Let's listen to what he says. Good morning. I would like to meet privately with my fellow heads of state. Mr. Macaron, could you just ask his interpreter, President? Mr. President. I can assure you your English is more disciplined for what I have to say. Six months ago, I was made aware of a situation so devastating that at first I refused to believe it. However, through the concerted efforts of our brightest scientists, we have confirmed its validity. The world as we know it will soon come to an end. Was he right? Is it going to happen in 2012? Is this the year? What's happening behind the scenes to prepare for that? This morning, I want to begin a new series of messages simply entitled The End of the World as we know it. I have chosen that topic and that theme, the title for several reasons. Number one, it is a very popular concept that this is the year 2012 that the end of the world, as we know it, the very terms used in the movie will come to be. And plus I just wanted to play on the REM song. It's the end of the world as we know it. Okay, I won't sing the whole thing for you. Need the band to back me up a little bit here. But there's a lot of popular concept today that this is going to be the end of the world as we know it. What I want to encourage us to see, what I want us to see in God's Word is that's true. The end of the world as we know it, this world will end as we know it. Second Peter 3, Revelation 21, indicate that the world as we know it will come to an end and will be replaced by a new earth and a new heaven. So there is an end of this world as we know it. But another reason for choosing this title is that we need to make sure that we understand what the Bible says about the end of this world, not what Hollywood says, not what our REM says, not what anybody else says, but what the Bible says about the end of this world. So this series is the end of the world as we know it. We know it from the scriptures. We know from the Word of God what the Bible says about the end of this world. In fact, the Bible gives us details of what will lead up to the end of the world as we know it. These are typically called prophetic themes or issues of prophecy. What the Bible foretells will happen in the future. And the Bible really is quite clear, not on all the details, but quite clear on a sequence of events that will lead to the end of the world as we know it. In these next few weeks, we want to look at that sequence of events described in the Bible that will lead to the end of the world as we know it. Whenever you deal with prophecy, you've got to have a chart. So we're going to put on the screen a prophetic chart. And I want to make it clear this is coming from a pre-millennial, pre-tribulational timetable. By that, we mean that basically Jesus will return before the millennium, thousand year rule of Christ, the reign of Christ on this earth. Jesus will come back to set up his kingdom. We are not in a kingdom now that is the only kingdom being set up. There is a literal kingdom on this earth. Jesus will come back and set it up and we'll get to that later in this series. Jesus, uh oh, watch it, watch it. Oh, not yet. Okay. All right. This kingdom is also pre-tribulational, which indicates that Jesus is going to come back before the tribulation time to take those of us who know him as Savior, home to be with him. And we can convince that this scheme or this view of Bible prophecy is most consistent with what the Bible teaches. A lot of differences in some of the details, but I think overall this is the proper way to look at the details of prophecy and of the future. Now let's see how it's going to all play out if you'll hit the next button there, Vanda. Thank you. Okay. Is it going to work? Ah, yes. I'm always afraid that the rapture is going to end up over here somewhere and it's not going to come out quite right, but thankfully it worked. Okay. Here we are. Right here. This is where we are. Right here in the church age. Here's the cross. Jesus is sending back to heaven, the Holy Spirit descending to begin the church on the day of Pentecost. And we are living in this age right here, the church age, the age of God building His church. The first event that will happen, the event which closes the church age is called the rapture. Now that word is not found in your Bible, but neither is the word Bible. Neither is the word Trinity. There are lots of theological words that we use or not found in the Bible, but the concept is found in the Bible. And we'll see that in just a moment. But the rapture is the first thing we will look at. And we're going to look at that today. And then there are a series of other events that we will look at in the coming weeks. Namely, the judgment seat of Christ, the judgment of believers works in heaven after the rapture. While that's going on in heaven, a seven year period of time called the tribulation will take place on this earth and will spend one message looking at what the Bible says about that. And then the return of Christ, often called the second coming when Jesus comes not in the air where we meet Him in the air, but the Bible says He will come all the way to the earth and set up His thousand year rule on this earth with Israel at its center. And that will be the millennium. We'll spend a message on the millennium. Then we'll take a message on the great white throne judgment. Following the great white throne judgment, we'll take one message to look at the eternal place of torment and punishment for those who know not Christ, the lake of fire. And then we'll also spend one message on the new heavens, the heaven that we will dwell in forever. I want to end this particular series of messages with a message called, how should we then live? From 2 Peter 3, we'll close out by talking about in light of these events that the Bible makes clear will happen in the future. How the world will end? How should we be living right now? How should we then live because of what the Bible teaches? Let's begin today at the beginning. The first event on the prophetic timetable or calendar is the rapture. Now Paul describes the sequence of events in the rapture in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. That's not our primary text for today. If you have your outline in front of you, it's 1 Corinthians 15. But 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, Paul does talk about the sequence of events. Let me just quickly summarize those for you. Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 4 16, he says, for the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God. The first thing that's going to happen, unannounced, no signs pointing to this, please understand that all of the signs in the Word of God that point to the coming of Christ have to do with the second coming after the tribulation. Those signs all come together during the tribulation, not now. There's nothing that must happen. No sign in the scriptures that must take place before Jesus comes back. So unannounced, he comes back. That's the return of Christ. And then Paul says, this is what will happen next. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Those who have died who are described as in Christ. That's a particular description that Paul uses in his epistles to designate those in the church age. Anyone in this time period from the day of Pentecost until Jesus returns who have entrusted Christ to Savior. They are spoken of as being in Christ. The dead, those who have died who are in Christ, will be raised first. They'll come out of the graves. Their bodies will come out of the grave to be reunited with their spirit that comes back with the Lord. Then the third thing that happens, Paul says, after the return of Christ, the resurrection of the dead will be the rapture of the living. He says in verse 17, after that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. So we will be with the Lord forever. That word caught up in the old Latin translations. The Latin word was rapio. That's where we get our English word rapture from. So the concept is in the Bible, although the word English word is not there. The concept of being caught up suddenly snatched up from this earth is found in the Bible in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. So Jesus returns the dead in Christ, those who are still living are caught up together with them, is happening at the same time, in the clouds, in the air, and then we will have a blessed reunion with both our loved ones and with Christ forever. That is the sequence of events of the rapture. But in another passage, there are three primary passages on the rapture of the New Testament, the third one being in John 14. And in another passage in 1 Corinthians 15, Paul describes the meaning of the rapture for us. Sequence of events, yes, in 1 Thessalonians 4. But in 1 Corinthians 15, it's what the rapture means to us. What it's going to look like? What it's going to mean to you and me sitting here this morning. So let's open our Bibles to 1 Corinthians 15 where Paul describes the rapture in three ways. First of all, he describes the rapture as a great change. Verse 51 to 53, 1 Corinthians 15, he describes the rapture as a great change. Now the substance of this change is found in verse 50 where he actually begins the thought. He says in verse 50, I declare to you brothers and sisters that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. In place where we're going, ultimately the kingdom of God, first of all in the millennium on this earth. And then ultimately, as 1 Corinthians 15 earlier says, he will deliver up the kingdom to the father and the kingdom will ask forever in eternity future, that kingdom is an eternal kingdom and it is a place that is not only eternal but perfect. Well the problem is, as verse 50 says, we live in bodies of flesh and blood that are not eternal and they're not perfect. In fact, they are perishable. We can't live in an imperishable place with perishable bodies so something has to change. We have to get a new body and that's what the change is that Paul is going to talk about in verses 51 to 53. It's the change of our bodies. Both dead and living will have new bodies that will be like Christ's glorified body and that change will take place at the rapture. Notice how he describes this great change in verse 51. He first of all says this change is complete. Verse 51, listen, I tell you a mystery. Let's stop right there. The word mystery is not something spooky. It's not a thriller that you read and can't figure out how it's going to work out till the end. It's not that kind of mystery. Paul uses the word mystery several times in his letters. When he uses it, he's always referring to, and the word itself refers to something that is new, something that is just now being revealed by God. It's not been revealed in the past. It is now being revealed for the first time. What Paul is going to say here is not found in the Old Testament. It was not revealed to the prophets and Old Testament saints. This is new truth designed for the church that began on the day of Pentecost. There are several things Paul will refer to. Ephesians 3, Colossians 1, and other places about this mystery. But it is all new truth that applies to the church, not to Israel, not to the Old Testament saints. This is a mystery. This is a new truth that Paul was revealing. Here it is, verse 51, we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed. When we finish the new nursery sweeps, that's going to be the verse of scripture that goes over the nurseries. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed. That's a great comfort to your parents, your kids and the nursery. Obviously that's not the sleep or the change that Paul is talking about here, is it? The sleep that Paul is talking about is the sleep of the body. It's a word that Paul uses several times. He uses it also in 1 Thessalonians 4. And in other places, to describe the death of a believer. When a believer dies, the body is temporarily laid to rest. That's why Paul calls it a sleep. It's not the soul that sleeps. Don't be misled by some who teach that when you die, everything shuts down, including your soul. They call it soul sleep. That's not what the Bible teaches. Paul made it very clear that to be absent from the body at death in 2 Corinthians 5, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Yes. Paul himself said to the Philippians in 1. I desire to depart. He's talking about his death. He's writing very clearly in 1 Philippians 1 about the possibility of him dying in a Roman prison. He says, I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. So when Paul departs this body, he says, I'm going to be with Christ. The soul doesn't sleep. When you die as a believer, immediately, the soul goes to be with the Lord in his presence. But the body goes to sleep. Now when you go to sleep at night, when you went to sleep last night, you fully expected to wake up this morning, right? That's what sleep is. It's a temporary rest for the body. And that's the very reason why Paul uses this word to describe the death of a believer. It's a beautiful word to describe what happens to a believer when he or she dies. The body temporarily is laid to rest. You expect to wake up and the waking up of the body is the resurrection. That's going to happen at the rapture. So Paul says, here it is, we will not all die, but we will all be changed. Now notice carefully what Paul is saying. He's talking about the coming of Jesus. He's going to get into that further in verse 52. But he says, when this happens, when this great change happens, not all of us will be dead yet. Some of us still be alive. So there will be some believers that have already died. When Jesus comes back, there will be some that will still be living. Whether you're dead or alive, you will all be changed. No exceptions. There are some people who teach what's called a partial rapture. In other words, when Jesus comes back, some people will go on to be with him. Others who may not have been living quite right, will be left behind. They may go through part of the tribulation time or all the tribulation time. It's kind of a punishment because they weren't living right. And then God will take care of them later. The Bible does not teach that. The Bible says whether you are dead or alive with the coming of Christ, we as believers in Christ will all be changed. No exceptions, no footnotes here. We will all be changed. So every one of us that knows Jesus Christ is Savior will be included in this rapture. If you die before he comes back, you'll be resurrected. If you're still alive when he comes back, you will be immediately caught up to be with the Lord. That's what the scriptures teach. This change then, this change in our bodies is complete. It's for all those who know Jesus is Savior. But notice in verse 52, Paul says this change is sudden. It's sudden in verse 52, he says this is how it's going to happen. In a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet, those three expressions impress upon us in a staccato-like fashion. Boom, boom, boom, how quickly this is going to happen. It's going to happen in a flash. In the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet, it's going to happen. And that quickly, think for a moment of that description. It's going to happen in a flash. That's a great word. Some translations use the word in a moment. It's an interesting word that Paul shows here. It's the Greek word Atomas. It's a word which literally translated means indivisible. That would be the literal translation of the Greek word Atomas. It is indivisible. It speaks of the smallest particle of time you can imagine. It cannot be divided any further into hours or minutes or seconds. This is the smallest particle of time and existence. It's interesting that when physicists first discovered the building block of nature, they called it after the Greek word Atomas. They called it the Atom because at that time, back in the 1700s, they did not believe it could be divided. And so they used the Greek word Indivisible for this particle of nature. It was 150 years later or so that scientists realized the Atom was made of several particles. Electrons, neutrons, protons, had a nucleus. And it could be divided. But initially, they didn't think it could be. And so they called it by the Greek word Indivisible. Now, that's what Paul's saying. It'll happen that quickly. When Christ comes back, you can no longer measure it in hours, minutes, even seconds. This is a small particle of time that can no longer be divided. That's how quickly it will happen. In a flash, in a moment, Jesus will come back. I think quite often we think of Jesus coming back slowly. He appears in heaven. There's time for people to see him coming. Time maybe to get hearts right with God. Take care of whatever needs to be taken care of as He slowly descends. That's the second coming to set up His kingdom after the tribulation. That's not the rapture. The rapture takes place in a moment, in a moment. And then Paul says, in the twinkling of an eye, the word literally has to do with rapid movement of the eye. The eye, I am told, moves faster than any other part of the body. You've heard the expression. The hand is quicker than the eye to describe someone who does a slight of hand, who does a magic trick, the hand is quicker than the eye. The eye is very quick. It moves more quickly than any other part of the body. The darting of the eye, the shifting of the eye, the gleam of the eye. And I know some of you are thinking twinkling of an eye. That's what I used to experience when I saw my wife or my husband twinkling of an eye. It is that kind of gleam that darting of the eye quickly. It is the rapid movement of the eye that Paul is talking about. Again, he's using a description of a very, very short period of time. In a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. And then he goes on to say, the trumpet will sound and this will happen immediately. The dead will be raised and we will be changed. This trumpet sounding, some people say, well, that's the last trumpet in the book of Revelation, right? So if you follow the Revelation account, that puts us toward the end of the Tribulation. Wow. That's not the right trumpet. First Thessalonians 4 says, this is the trumpet of God in Revelation. These are trumpets. The angels blow to announce God's judgment on people on the earth. It's not the same purpose, not even the same person blowing it. So it's not the trumpets of Revelation that he's talking about. This is a trumpet sound that God issues when he is ready for his son Jesus to come back. In Bible times, trumpets were often used as signals for gathering and assembly. Maybe it was a town gathering. You wanted everybody to gather in the Colosseum for a particular town notice or announcement. You would use a series of trumpet blasts. When the Roman army was getting ready to move out, they didn't have the kinds of electronic communications we have today. They used banners and trumpet blasts to signal. The last trump would be, we're starting. This is it. This time of start, whether it was a convocation of people from town or it was the moving out of the army. So the last trumpet was a very well-known cultural expression in Paul's day for now it starts. This is it. Before time, it's starting now. That's what Paul means. The rapture is sudden. This change is sudden. It will happen in a flash. In the moment it takes your eye to dark. When that trumpet sounds, it's time. There's no more time remaining. So the change is sudden. But he also says this change is necessary. And here's why it's necessary, verse 53. In the middle of verse 52, he has said, but the trumpet will sound. The dead will be raised imperishable and we will be changed. And here's the reason, verse 53, for the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable and the mortal with immortality. He's restating and summarizing what he said back in verse 50. We're going to an eternal place, heaven. We're going to a place where there is no decay, no corruption, no death. Here's the problem. We have bodies that are decaying and dying. Those two don't mix. You can't go to a perfect place with this kind of body. So that's the reason for this change. We have to get a new body. I don't know about you, but I'm thankful for that. I'm looking forward to that. We do live in bodies that, to use Paul's word in verse 53, are perishable. The word means bodies that are decaying or deteriorating. Now, there's a period of time in your life when your body grows and develops. Until you're about 20 or 25. Of course, there are other growth possibilities after that, but we won't talk about those. But as far as the development of your body, till you're about 20 or 25 or so, the prefrontal cortex really takes shape for young adults in the brain, that's about age 21 or 22. When your body is fully completed, you start going downhill after that. So did you realize you're over the hill at age 25? You realize that? Stuff starts to fall apart. I mean, after the development is pretty well complete, may level off for a little while, but you're starting downhill. Your body is deteriorating. And the older we get, the more we sense that and recognize that and feel that. But the body that we in dwell is also dying. From the moment we come into this world, we are all headed toward death. I don't mean to be morbid here, but that's realistic. That's the way it is. We are all headed that direction. We are all on a march toward death. And because we're in that kind of body, we cannot inhabit a place where there is no decay, no corruption, no death, no deterioration. We have to trade in this decaying, deteriorating, dying body for a new model. And that's what we're going to do at the rapture. That's the reason for the change at the rapture. When Jesus comes back, this body is going to be instantly changed to be like Christ's perfect, glorified body. And it's the body we will have for eternity. Praise the Lord for that. I'm looking forward to the new model. It's going to be a lot better than the one I've gotten now. Paul describes the rapture as a great change. There must be a change in our bodies, and that will happen at the rapture. It will happen in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, when that trumpet sounds, it's done. It's done. But Paul also describes the rapture as a great cheer. There's not only a great change at the rapture, there's also going to be a great cheer go up. And it's a cheer of victory. Notice how Paul describes this in verses 54 and 55. He describes the nature of this cheer. What it's going to sound like? What's the nature of it? Verse 54. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable and the mortal with immortality. In other words, when this change in our bodies takes place at the rapture, then the saying that is written will come true. Death has been swallowed up in victory. That saying is written in Isaiah 25. Paul quotes it from the Old Testament. This Old Testament saying will be completed then at the rapture. Death is swallowed up in victory. And then here's the cheer. Because of that, here's the cheer that's going to go up the rapture. Verse 55. Where old death is your victory? Where old death is your sting? Now that's a great cheer that I believe is going to be uttered and heard at the rapture. The cheer of victory over death. Now I don't know exactly the details of all this, but I like to imagine that this is maybe how it will take place. I can't say this dogmatically. I can't say this for sure. Certainly, it wouldn't start a new domination on this. But I think this is, I like to imagine this is the way it could happen. Where old death is your victory? I think that may well be the cheer that is uttered from the lips of those who come out of the grave. You thought you had a victory or you thought you had won. You didn't win. Where old death is your victory as they come out of the grave victorious over death. And then I would like to imagine that possibly the second cry, where old death is your sting will be the cheer that is uttered by those of us who are still alive when Jesus comes back because we never suffered the painful sting of death. We never experienced death. And so maybe we will be the ones crying, where old death is your sting. A great cheer is going to go up when Jesus comes back. And the nature of that cheer is a cheer of victory over death. Death will be robbed of its victory. And death will be robbed of its sting. And we will not experience death if you're still alive when Jesus comes back. What a great cheer of victory that will be. Greater than anybody who's ever won the Super Bowl. Greater than anybody who's ever won the NCAA tournament or the World Series. This cheer of victory will echo throughout the universe. Where old death is your victory? No death is your sting. What a great cheer of victory. I often think about this verse when I'm walking to a grave side. The end of a funeral service or the beginning of a grave side service. And I'm walking across that ground or inside the mausoleum toward a cemetery, toward a grave plot, a grave side. I often think of this verse. And I often think, Lord, this would be a great time for you to come back right now. Again, I'm not trying to be morbid, but I would love to be at a cemetery when Jesus comes back. I really would. I'd love to be walking toward a grave side and see and hear all of those people come out of the graves who know Christ and hear that cheer of victory. Oh, death, where is your victory? And then to join them in that split moment by saying, oh, death, where is your sting? I didn't have to experience it. What a great cheer of victory that will be. What a great occasion that's going to be. That's the nature of this cheer. Notice what Paul says, however, about the scope of this cheer. What all will be involved in this cheer of victory, verse 56? The sting of death is sin and the power of sin is the law. Now Paul introduces another couple of concepts here that may at first glance seem to be out of place. He's talking about victory over death. Why does he all of a sudden digress and talk about sin and the law? Why bring those that? That's been seen to make any sense, does it? When you think a little bit, it makes perfect sense. Paul, the expert theologian, is tying together some truths that are inextricable. They must be tied together. You see, this victory is a victory over death. That's what we're escaping or getting victory over at the rapture. But it also includes a victory over sin and the law. As Paul says, they're tied together. The sting of death is sin and the power of sin is the law. Here's what he means by that. What was it that introduced sin or death, excuse me, into the world? What was it that introduced death into the human race? It was sin, wasn't it? Adam's sin in the garden, the two are closely tied. It is sin that introduced death into the human experience, into the human race. Paul said it very well, very clearly in Romans 5, 12. For as by one man, speaking of Adam, sin entered the world and death by sin. And so death passed upon all men for that all had sinned. You see, death, the human experience, universal human experience of death came because of sin. The two are that closely tied together. Now, where does the law fit in? It is God's law, particularly the law of Moses. It's one of its roles, one of its functions, was to make us aware of our sin. The law of God, clearly in the New Testament, is designed to, as Paul says in Romans 3, shut our mouths. That we can no longer boast that we're good enough to get to heaven because the law shows us, we are not good enough to measure up to God's standards. And so the law shows us we're sinners and then what does it do? It condemns us because of our sin. To death, we deserve eternal separation from God. That's the condemnation of the law because of our sin. So you see how they're all tied together? Death came because of sin. The law makes us aware of our sin and condemns us to the penalty of death because of our sin. They're all three tied together. So there's no complete victory. The scope of the victory is diminished if all three are not covered and all three are covered. When we shout that cry of victory at the rapture, we're not only talking about death, we're also talking about being released from sin and released from the curse of the law. The law can no longer condemn us. Thank God for that. But notice, notice, here's the best part. Notice what Paul says about the reason for this cheer that we will utter on that day. The reason for this cheer is in verse 57. But thanks be to God. He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. The gospel song victory in Jesus comes out of this verse. The victory that we have that he's just talked about, victory over death, victory over the penalty of sin, victory over the condemnation of the law all comes through Jesus Christ. My friend, that's the only way you can have victory over death, sin, and the condemnation of the law is through Jesus Christ. Anyway, and here's the reason why. Jesus came to die so that he might conquer death. Can you do that? Can you buy your own efforts? Conquer death? Of course not. But Jesus did. He died and three days later, he came out of that tomb alive. Conquering death. He's done it. And it is because of his victory over death that we have victory. Our resurrection is also assured because of his. But Jesus also came to take care, not only of death, he came to take care of sin. He came to pay the penalty for your sin in mind. When he died on the cross, he took your sin and paid that penalty in full. He took the punishment that God said, you deserve because of your sin. Jesus took all of that on the cross when he died. He was perfect, spotless, sinless. So he had no sin of his own to die for. He died as a substitute for your sin in my sin. And so the only way you can have victory over sin is through Christ because he died for your sins. But he also died to abolish the condemnation of the law against us. That long pointing finger of God's law that says, you see, you see, you are a sinner. And because of your sin, you deserve condemnation. Jesus took care of that too on the cross. Look at how Paul says it so beautifully in Colossians chapter 2 and verse 14. When he says, I think it will be on the screen, should be under the reason for this year. We missed it. Okay. Colossians 2 says that Jesus took the law and nailed it to his cross. Nailed it to his cross. He took the indebtedness that we deserve because of sin. The indebtedness that the law says, you are condemned. You are condemned to death because of your sin. He took it to the Bible says and nailed it to his cross. He took care of that condemnation so that Paul can say in Romans chapter 8, there is therefore now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus. No condemnation to those who are in Christ. Thank God. Jesus Christ conquered death. He paid totally for your sin and my sin and he took care of the condemnation and the curse of the law against us. The only way all three of those could be handled was through the death of Christ on the cross and he did it. He did it for you and he did it for me. The reason for this victory is because of Jesus Christ and what he has done on the cross. If you don't know Jesus as your Savior, you are still lost, separated from God under his condemnation because of your own sin. The law is still pointing at Spinger. Are you saying you see? You can't measure up on your own. You're a sinner and you deserve eternal separation from God. If you've never trusted Christ as your Savior from your heart, that's exactly where you are. And morally you may be a good person as other people would look at you. You are still under the curse of God because of your sin and you will die eternally, separated from God if you don't come to Jesus as your Savior. And so you need Christ. He is the only way that we can experience this victory and yell this cheer of victory when the rapture comes. Thank God for this great cheer of victory. The Paul describes the rapture in one other way. Not only is it a great change and a great cheer, it is also a great challenge. There is a challenge involved in knowing that Jesus is coming back. Notice the way he challenges us in verse 58. Therefore, in other words because of what we just talked about, because the rapture is coming and it's coming any time and it's going to be quick. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. Paul challenges us to live in a way that we should live because Jesus is coming back soon. He first of all challenges us to purity. You see it there in verse 58. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. That particular word is used most often in the New Testament of being firm morally, being pure. It is purest that he's talking about here. That we should stand firm and not to compromise ourselves morally. One of the most distressing statistics and yet for anyone who deals with a lot of people, it's not surprising, is the statistics that come out of the surveys that people like George Barna do, George Gallup do. Those surveys indicate that the percentages of immorality among church people is not at all different from those in the world, from those who don't know Christ, from those who don't go to church. That's disturbing, but I believe it's true. Living together before marriage, premarital sex, immoral relationships, adultery, pornography, the incidences of those factors inside the church are not greatly different from those outside the church. I wish that were not true, but that's what all the statistics tell us. Have we forgotten the implications of Christ's return? Have we forgotten that Jesus could come back at any moment? The Bible says that has a purifying effect on us if we really believe it. John says in 1 John chapter 3 and verses 2 and 3, dear friends, now are we the children of God? That's a wonderful thing to be called God's children, isn't it? He says what we will be has not yet been made known. In other words, we don't know exactly what it's going to be like to be like Christ. We don't experience that yet. But we know that when Christ appears, that's the rapture talking about now. We know that when Christ appears, we shall be like Him. That's the change in our bodies that Paul's talked about. We shall be like Him for we shall see Him as He is. Now notice verse 3, all who have this hope in Him, this hope of the rapture, of Christ coming back and being changed to be like Him, all who have this hope in Christ purify themselves just as He is pure. In other words, knowing that Jesus could come back at any moment should serve as a challenge to purity, a challenge to live pure lives, to live lives that are above reproach, to live lives that are not involved in immorality in any sense of the word. So a challenge to purity. But Paul also says the rapture is a challenge to faithfulness. You see it there in verse 58, let nothing move you. In other words, be immovable in your commitment to Christ. What does it take to move you, of course, in your commitment to Christ? Temptation, life's difficulties and trials, something somebody says, What does it take to move you, off of that path of commitment to Christ? Paul says a real motivation, a real challenge to us in maintaining that commitment is to realize Jesus could come back today. And if Jesus could come back today, I want to be found faithful to Him. I want Him to find me faithful to Him, not with my spiritual zeal and passion for Him way, way gone. I want to find Him to find me committed to Him fully. So faithfulness, it's a challenge to faithfulness. Thirdly, it is a challenge to service. You see it there in verse 58, therefore my dear brothers and sisters stand firm, let nothing move you. And then here it is, always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. Even in discouraging times, even in difficult times, even in times when there is no response, or when it's tough, Paul says, always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord. Now does that mean that everybody ought to quit their job and go into vocational Christian ministry? Of course not. But no matter where you are, no matter what vocation you have, we are to devote ourselves fully to the work of the Lord. In fact, you need to see your vocation. All of us need to see our vocation as an opportunity to glorify God on this earth. And so whatever we're doing, whether we're teaching school, nursing the hospital, factory worker, salesperson, whatever it may be, we're doing that to glorify God and to ultimately impact people for him and his kingdom. And our testimony, and even the way we do our work, should speak of the fragrance of Christ and should be the kind of testimony that shows people what it's like if Jesus were doing that job. And then when it comes to serving the Lord as far as accomplishing his work in this world, furthering his gospel, taking the gospel to people that need him, and then serving one another, encouraging and building up one another in the faith, devoting ourselves to the work of God, giving ourselves to his work. Are you involved in the work of the Lord? And I love how Paul says it. He says, give yourselves to the work of the Lord, give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord. Nothing held back with zeal and fervor, give yourselves fully to the work always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord. There's no that up here. We are to be about God's work, his kingdom work throughout this world. Because we know that our labor in the Lord is not in vain. If I know that Jesus is going to come back today, I don't want to miss an opportunity that he puts in my way, in my path to serve him. It's a motivation, a challenge to serving faithfully. Are you doing anything to serve Christ? Anything involved in this church or this community or an outreach of this church that gets you involved in doing the work of God? Anything that involves, for instance, getting food to hungry people across the world. Are you involved? Anything that involves getting the gospel to people that need the gospel? Anything that involves in serving the weak, the downtrodden, the poor, the discouraged? Anything that involves a ministry of this church that helps build one another up? Are you involved in any way in the work of the Lord? Paul says that it'll be a focus as we realize Jesus is coming back. We don't have much time. Jesus is coming back and he's coming back soon. It could happen anytime. And when it happens, it'll happen quickly. Are you ready? Are you ready for him to come back? I think I've told you this before, but sometimes Genie will leave to go visit one of our kids and I'm not able to go or she'll be away on a conference for her work and I'm at home alone. I tell you, it's not a pretty sight when I'm at home alone. It just gets real messy. I'm one of those guys that just does not see the logic in making a bed if you're just gonna tear the thing down and get back in at that night. I just doesn't make sense to me to do that. So beds don't have a tendency to get made at least very well when Genie's away. There's a tendency for dishes to pile up in the sink and for clothes maybe to end up on the floor rather than the clothes hamper. But I always know when she's coming back. Yeah, so you know what happens tonight before she comes back, right? I will never forget when we were at Appalachian Bible College and GD had gone away to one of these conferences and she was supposed to be back on a Friday evening at seven o'clock. So I left the college at five o'clock that evening thinking I had a couple hours. I can make things really look good. Save my reputation here and as I'm pulling in the driveway, she's walking in the front door. She got home early, unannounced before I was ready. Thank God I'm married to the woman I'm married to. She is so gracious and kind. I wasn't kicked out of the house or anything like that. But I was disappointed that I didn't have things looking good for her. How are you going to feel when Jesus comes back? What if Jesus were here today standing right up here at the front of this auditorium and he was making an announcement? I'm going to come back to take you home to heaven in 24 hours. Quarter till 12 Monday morning. I'm going to come back. Let me ask you, would anything change in the next 24 hours for you? Is there anything you would do that you're not doing right now? Is there anybody you would need to go to and say, I'm sorry. We haven't spoken for, we've had problems between us, maybe a family member, maybe a fellow church member, maybe a neighbor. And you know you need to make that right before he comes back. Maybe there's someone God's been laying on your heart, burdening you about to witness to. And you just haven't done it. You just haven't done it. Keep putting it off. But if you knew Jesus was coming back at quarter till 12 Monday morning, you'd make sure you talk to that person. Maybe there's some sin in your life and you've just been toying with it, playing with it, allowing it to festern grow and not dealing with it with genuine repentance and confession. But if you knew Jesus was coming back at a quarter till 12 tomorrow, you'd deal with that right now. Now here's the thing, Jesus is not going to announce to you when he's coming back. It could happen any time and when it does, remember it will be in a flash. In the time it takes your eye to dart from one side to the other and it's over. Are you ready? Are you ready for Jesus to come back? Let's pray. Father, first of all, I want to pray for any who may be here this morning that have never trusted Jesus as Savior. And they do not know Him in the forgiveness of their sin. They do not know Him in the sense that the curse and condemnation of the laws been lifted and taken care of for them. And they know they will not have victory over death because they do not know Jesus. Lord, I pray if anyone here is unsafe, never trusted Christ that today would be the day when they trust the Lord Jesus as Savior. Lord, I pray for those of us who are believers who know you, Lord, I ask that you would help us to examine our lives. If there's anything in our life that would cause us not to be ready, may we take care of that today. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. In the invitation this morning should be very clear. If you're not saved, if you're not sure that you know Jesus, you're not sure that you would go to heaven with Him when He comes back. You need to make sure today, don't put it off. If you do know Jesus as your Savior, but you could say, you know, if it were 24 hours and I knew it, there's something I'd take care of. You need to take care of that. You need to make sure that gets right with God before another day passes.