Skip HeitzigSkip Heitzig

Skip's Teachings > War is Over, The > Victory (The War Is Over)

Message:

BUY: Buy CD
Player will resume where you were momentarily. Please wait...

Cancel
Loading player...
Enter your Email Address:

or cancel

Victory (The War Is Over)
1 Corinthians 15:50-58
Skip Heitzig

1 Corinthians 15 (NKJV™)
50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption.
51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed--
52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
54 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory."
55 "O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?"
56 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.
57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

New King James Version®, Copyright © 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved.

Previous Cookies must be enabled to support these options.
War is Over, The

Victory is a decidedly Christian term. It is used in our spiritual vocabulary almost without effort or thought. We frequently celebrate that Jesus went to the cross and volunteered His life to be the payment for sin in order to justify us before God. But this is more than a simple concept. In this final message explaining the scriptural foundations of our new worship project, we now turn to the future when we will become winners over the last enemy of life—death itself.

As Battledrums releases its debut album, The War Is Over, we take a look at these songs and how they apply to our life as we live in victory over sin. Join Skip Heitzig in celebrating these songs and what they symbolize for our Christian walk. The war is over--Christ has won!

FREE - Download Entire Series (MP3) (Help) | Buy series | Buy audiobook

Outline

    Open as Word Doc Open as Word Doc    Copy Copy to Clipboard    Print icon    Show expand

  1. The Future Requires Our Victory (vv. 50-53)

  2. The Scriptures Predict Our Victory (vv. 54-55)

  3. Our Battles Anticipate Our Victory (vv. 56-57)

  4. Our Life Is Motivated by Victory (v. 58)

Study Guide

    Open as Word Doc Open as Word Doc    Copy Copy to Clipboard    Print icon    Show expand

Connect Group Recap: September 20, 2015
Teacher: Skip Heitzig
Teaching: Victory (The War Is Over)
Text: 1 Corinthians 15:50-58

Path

Victory is a decidedly Christian term. We frequently celebrate that Jesus went to the cross and volunteered His life to be the payment for sin in order to justify us before God. But this is more than a simple concept; it points to the future when we will become winners over the last enemy of life—death itself.
  1. The Future Requires Our Victory (vv. 50-53)
  2. The Scriptures Predict Our Victory (vv. 54-55)
  3. Our Battles Anticipate Our Victory (vv. 56-57)
  4. Our Life Is Motivated by Victory (v. 58)
Points

The Future Requires Our Victory (vv. 50-53)
  • First Corinthians 15 is the longest and most comprehensive treatment of the resurrection in the Bible.
  • Our resurrection will be physical, literal, and actual.
  • Why will God transform our bodies?
    • To reverse the effects of original sin
    • Our new environment (the new heaven and earth) demands it
  • Probe: Though we are not told directly in Scripture and can only speculate, what do you think our new bodies will be like in the new heaven and earth?
The Scriptures Predict Our Victory (vv. 54-55)
  • Death is our enemy. But, by using text from Isaiah and Hosea, Paul predicted that death will be defeated.
  • Paul wrote verse 55 as a taunt, a sneering mockery of death. In essence, Paul was saying death holds no dread, the grave no grief; death is powerless in the face of God’s power.
  • Probe: Discuss the first time you encountered death. What were your thoughts? How does an unbeliever view death—what is its sting?
Our Battles Anticipate Our Victory (vv. 56-57)
  • We fight a lifelong battle with our sin nature (see Galatians 5:16).
  • Death would have no sting if it weren’t for sin; sin brought death, and the law of Moses articulated all the ways we sin.
  • Like a mirror, the law shows us our sin but can’t fix it; in fact, it makes it worse.
  • Jesus fixed the problem of sin, paying the price the law demanded and bringing victory over sin and death.
  • In a sense, death stung itself to death at the cross, its poison completely absorbed by Christ’s perfect sacrifice.
  • Death has been defanged, making it our friend, not our foe. "To live is Christ, and to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21).
  • Probe: Has it sunk in that death has no sting for you? What does this mean for your walk and witness?
Our Life Is Motivated by Victory (v. 58)
  • Theology must lead to practicality; information must result in transformation.
  • Paul gave three charges:
    • Be steadfast—stand your ground; be settled in your faith.
    • Be immovable—don’t deviate from the gospel; declare it!
    • Always abound—this is a motivation to service, excelling with what God has given you.
  • Jesus Christ rose from the dead in the past and will return for His people in the future. In the present, our life should be motivated by His victory.
  • Probe: How are you being steadfast, immovable, and abounding in your life? Give some examples.
Practice

Connect Up: How do you show your appreciation to God for what He has done in and through the resurrection of Jesus?

Connect In: Knowing that you’ll spend eternity with your fellow believers in resurrected bodies, how can you improve demonstrating love and service to them now?

Connect Out: You’ve probably attended a funeral for a person whose eternal state was unknown. Knowing that some people will live in eternity without God, how does the good news of the resurrection help us become better witnesses? What can we tell people about the Christian’s experience of death?

Detailed Notes

    Open as Word Doc Open as Word Doc    Copy Copy to Clipboard    Print icon    Show expand

  1. Introduction
    1. Victory comes in the future when we are resurrected
    2. The Corinthians had a hard time believing in a physical resurrection
    3. Glorification
  2. The Future Requires Our Victory (vv. 50-53)
    1. Our physical bodies are not suited for the future kingdom
      1. Special places require special equipment
      2. The place we are going to is not subject to death, disease, or decay
    2. Transformation will either be by physical resurrection or rapture
    3. Mystery = here is new information
    4. Not all believers will die; some will be alive when the Lord returns
    5. Our perishable bodies must take on an imperishable form
    6. How will this resurrection and transformation happen?
      1. In a moment
        1. Atomos = uncut, indivisible part of time, a moment
        2. Something that cannot be divided
        3. The shortest possible amount of time
      2. In the twinkling of an eye
        1. Believed to be the time it takes for light to go through the iris to the retina of the eye
        2. One-sixth of a nanosecond
      3. At the last trumpet
        1. The last call for believers on the earth
        2. Will announce Jesus is coming
        3. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
    7. Why do we need to be raised and transformed?
      1. To reverse the effects of original sin (see Genesis 2:17)
      2. Our new environment will demand it
  3. The Scriptures Predict Our Victory (vv. 54-55)
    1. The corruptible will put on incorruption
      1. Those who have died and are experiencing decomposition
      2. They will put on an incorruptible form
    2. The mortal will gain immortality
    3. Isaiah 25:8; Hosea 13:14
    4. God will destroy death
    5. A taunting song (see v. 55)
    6. Dying holds no dread
    7. The grave holds no grief
  4. Our Battles Anticipate Our Victory (vv. 56-57)
    1. We lead a lifelong battle with the flesh
    2. We are on the winning team
    3. Death would have no sting if it were not for sin
      1. Consciousness of unforgiven sin makes people afraid to die
      2. Even unbelievers have this nagging thought when they approach death
    4. Sin would have no sting if it were not for the law
      1. The law articulated our problem
      2. It shows us how unholy we are compared to a holy God
    5. Jesus promised eternal life to all who have failed but have trusted in Him
    6. Death stung itself to death when it bit Jesus (see Philippians 1:21)
  5. Our Life Is Motivated by Victory (v. 58)
    1. If Jesus can be resurrected from the dead, anything is possible
    2. Be steadfast and immovable
      1. We don't know when we are going to die
      2. Death—barring the rapture—is inevitable
    3. Jesus went into the grave, but He also came back out
  6. Closing
    1. If we have not accepted Christ, death still has a sting and we should be afraid of it
    2. Only when we have repented and accepted Jesus' sacrifice will we be victorious over sin and death

Greek words: atomos

Cross references: Genesis 2:17; Isaiah 25:8; Hosea 13:14; Philippians 1:21; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17


Transcript

Open as Word Doc Open as Word Doc    Copy Copy to Clipboard    Print icon    Show expand

Hello, and welcome to this message from Pastor Skip Heitzig of Calvary Albuquerque. Our series called "The War is Over" celebrates the songs from our worship team Battledrums debut album now available on ITunes, Google Play, and at battledrumsmusic.com.

In this series, Skip looks at how these songs apply to us as we live in victory over sin. If you'd like to support this ministry financially, you can give online securely at calvaryabq.org/giving. We celebrate that Jesus went to the cross and volunteered his life to pay for our sins, but this is more than just a simple concept.

In this final message of our series, Skip turns to the future when we will become winners over the last enemy of life, death itself. We invite you to turn to 1 Corinthians, Chapter 15. But before Skip begins, check out this sneak peek of "Victory (The War is Over)".

[MUSIC PLAYING - BATTLEDRUMS - "VICTORY (THE WAR IS OVER)"]

[APPLAUSE]

Would you please turn in your bibles to the book of 1 Corinthians, Chapter 15. 1 Corinthians, Chapter 15. We have been doing a series and this is the last message in this series where we are looking at the songs that our worship team has written, original songs, and we're giving what are the biblical foundations, the truths, that are encapsulated in those songs. And the song is "Victory", the one you saw, "The War is Over".

A little girl crawled up into her grandfather's lap and they cuddled. And I can just say from experience, ain't nothing better than that. And this little girl, with her big blue eyes, stared up into grandpa's face and said, Grandpa, would you please make the sound that a frog makes? And he smiled back at her and said, ribbit, ribbit.

That little girl jumped out of her grandpa's lap, ran into the kitchen, and yelled, we're going to Disneyland. We're going to Disneyland. Her mom said, what on earth just happened? What do you mean we're going to Disneyland? Why are you yelling that? And the little girl yelled even louder, well, you said we could go to Disneyland when Grandpa croaks.

[LAUGHTER]

You know, for some people, death is an enemy. For other people, death is a friend.

[LAUGHTER]

The truth is, you're all going to croak. Unless the Lord comes back in our lifetime, all of us are going down. I don't know how you feel about that. But we are highlighting today a song of victory, a song of freedom. The war is over. And there's a lot of ways we could look at that truth.

We could look at it, as typically done, by looking backward at the cross, noting that Jesus broke us free of the chains of sin. He has delivered us from the penalty of it. Or we could decide to examine that from a present tense, that the Holy Spirit is living within us giving victory over the power of sin.

But what Paul does in 1 Corinthians 15 is he moves our gaze forward to the ultimate victory, the victory over death itself. He neatly takes what has happened in the past and our motivation in the present, but has us look to the future. And the victory he writes about in this chapter is the victory that comes in the future by the resurrection, your resurrection.

Eugene Peterson has written a book and he wrote about visiting a monastery interestingly enough. He said he was walking with the monks from where they were staying down toward the little cafeteria to get food and he noticed the graveyard that they walk by, and there was one grave that had been freshly dug. It was open, there was a hole in the ground.

And so Peterson said, so which one of your community has died recently? And the monk said, no one. That's for the next one. And it dawned on him that three times a day, every single day, three times a day, when they go to meal they are reminded that one of them is the next one.

I wonder who's the next one in this auditorium right now? One of us will be the next one. But notice what Paul does at the end of 1 Corinthians 15, is verse 50 to 58, the final paragraph. "Now this I say brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God, nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.

For the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised incorruptible and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory. Oh death, where is your sting? Oh Hades, where is your victory?

The sting of death is sin and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord."

Now, did you notice there are 58 verses in this chapter? That's a long chapter. In fact, Chapter 15 of 1 Corinthians is the longest, most comprehensive chapter in all of the Bible about the resurrection, Jesus' resurrection and ours.

And if you're wondering why so long a chapter, why so much literary verbal real estate on that subject of the resurrection, there's an easy answer to it. The Greeks thought the idea of a physical bodily resurrection was utterly ridiculous.

Why on earth, once you have been released from your physical body, would you ever want to be reunited with that? And Corinthians were tainted by that belief. And so Paul breaks it down in this chapter. It's a very, very detailed and comprehensive chapter.

You see, these believers had no problem believing in salvation. They had no problem believing that their spirits would go to be with the Lord, but a physical resurrection? They had trouble with that. By the way, do you know that you personally will have one day a resurrection? Do you know that you will literally, actually, physically rise from the grave? Your body will.

I think that's good news, you know, because when we do, we're going to look a lot different than we do now. And in all the polls that I've read when these magazines ask the American public if there is one thing you could change about your life, what would it be? Invariably it's our physical appearance, our body type, our weight, our wrinkles, whatever. We want to change some physical appearance.

Well, that is going to happen and the Bible refers to that as glory, or glorification. When you are glorified. We're going to go from gorified to glorified. Now looking at this last paragraph, I want to give you four factors that point to our final victory. Victory is speaking of this victory over death in the future, four factors that point to it.

First off, our future requires our victory. Look at the 50th verse. "Now this I say brethren, that flesh and blood-- that is our body, our physical body-- flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God, nor does corruption inherit in corruption."

In other words, our physical bodies are not suited for the future kingdom. This body just will not do. Go back one verse, Verse 49. "We, as we have borne the image of the man of dust-- that's Adam-- we shall also bear the image of the heavenly man." That is Christ.

Simply put, we are moving. And the place we are moving to requires special equipment. Special places require special equipment. We know this to be true. If you want to go into outer space, you need special equipment to give you oxygen, to take away carbon dioxide, to give you the right pressure.

If you want to go down into the ocean, the same thing. You're in a foreign environment, you need special equipment. If you want to climb Mount Everest, special equipment. 200 people have died climbing Mount Everest in the past. Many have succeeded, 200 have failed.

Special places require special equipment. Now our present bodies, these physical bodies, are subject to disease, decay, death, decomposition. The place we are going to is not subject to any of these. That raises a problem. How can these bodies ever be suited for that place? Paul's answer, resurrection. Just as Jesus rose from the grave and ascended into heaven, one day your physical body will have that victory, it is called. That's what he refers to victory as in this section.

Now we don't experience that victory here. At least, I haven't experienced it, have you? Have you looked in the mirror and just thought, oh my goodness, I am so amazing. This is as good as it gets. No, quite the opposite, right?

Even I saw this interesting documentary on aging supermodels. And aging supermodels all come to one conclusion, their career is very short. Because they only look a certain way for a very short period of time before they get shelved for the next one.

And so, so this is good news. There must be a change. There must be a transformation. And the transformation will either be by physical resurrection or by rapture. Those are the two options. Physical resurrection or rapture.

Verse 51. "Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep but we shall all be changed." It's funny, there is a church that actually wrote that above their church nursery where all the babies are. We shall not all sleep but we shall all be changed.

[LAUGHTER]

That's out of context, by the way. "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet, for the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised incorruptible and we shall be changed, for this corruptible must put on incorruption, this mortal must put on immortality."

Don't get thrown by the word mystery. It simply means here is new information. Here is information that hasn't been mentioned in the Old Testament, but I'm telling it to you by the word of the Lord now. That's all it means, new information, previously unknown information. And here it is. The information is simple.

Not all believers in Jesus will die. Some will actually be alive when the Lord returns. And when he returns, there is going to be a transformation of the dead previously and the living at that moment. That's the mystery. That's the information.

Our perishable bodies must at some point take on an imperishable form because of where we're going. So you can't take what you've got to heaven. I said it was good news. I mean, listen, I don't want to look like this forever, do you? You might be very young, and svelte, and handsome, and beautiful, and you go, I don't know, it's pretty good.

[LAUGHTER]

Just wait.

[LAUGHTER]

How is this going to happen? How is this resurrection and this transformation going to happen? Well, Verse 52. Listen to his language. ":In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet."

The word moment is the Greek word atomas. We get the word atom from it. But in the Greek, it means something that cannot be divided, something that cannot be cut in two. It is the shortest possible amount of time. That's what it means. In a moment, a flash.

And he further elaborates on that. In the twinkling of an eye. What's the twinkling of an eye? It's not the blinking of an eye. That's about 1/30 of a second. That's fast enough. But the twinkling of an eye is believed to be the time it takes for a light to go from the iris to the retina of the eye. And that has been actually calculated as 1/6 of a nanosecond.

So it's not a second, not a split second, not a nanosecond. 1/6 of a nanosecond. In a moment. An undividable moment of time. In the twinkling of an eye.

All of that language Paul is using to say this will not be a long, drawn out process. It's going to happen instantaneously. Now when is this all going to take place? Look at what he writes. "At the last trumpet." The trumpet will sound. Now this is not the end of the world trumpet. This is not the last trumpet in the Book of Revelation, the tribulation period. This is simply the last call for believers on the earth announcing, trumpeting, that Jesus Christ will come.

Let me give you a parallel passage. It's kind of the same thing, but it's elaborated on just a bit more. It's the classic rapture passage, 1 Thessalonians 4, verse 16 and 17. Listen to it. "For this we say to you by the word of the Lord that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep." Same truth.

There's going to be some living, some who are already dead believers in Jesus. But when Jesus returns, some have died and some will be alive. "For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel and with a trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. And then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together, Harpazo, taken away violently by force, caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord."

So he gives a chronology. There is going to be a moment of time in the future when those who are believers in Christ who have died will be instantaneously raised from the dead and those who are alive will be caught up together with them.

So at some point in the future the earth and the sea will yield up all the dust, all the atoms, all the molecules of all the decomposed of believers. I know that's very graphic, but I want you to understand this. And will yield them up and there will be an instant transformation that takes place into a resurrected body, whether you're alive or dead at the moment.

This brings up a question. It's a pretty simple question in fact, it's a very obvious question. Here's the question. Why? Why would God need to do this? Why is the resurrection of the physical body such a big deal? Why don't we just go to heaven in our spirits kind of ethereally and enjoy the presence of God? Why is it important that our bodies get raised? For two reasons. It's elaborated on in previous verses, don't have time to get into it, but I'll give you the two reasons.

Number one to reverse the effects of original sin. God said to Adam, "And the day that you eat thereof, you will surely die." And we've been dying ever since. So to reverse the effects of original sin requires Resurrection.

And second, the new environment you're going to demands it. Special places requires special equipment. The millennial earth, the eternal state, you need a resurrection to complete your salvation and to inhabit the future kingdom.

So our future requires our victory. There's a second factor. The scriptures predict that victory. Look at Verse 54. Paul says "So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality." Now stop for a minute, because I know you've read these verses before and you tend to skip over this stuff. We all do. But it sounds like he's saying the same thing twice, right? He's not.

We believe that this is actually a category speaking of those who have died, versus another category of those who are still alive. That's what he has been saying. So look at the first category. When this corruptible is put on incorruption-- that is, those who have died and are experiencing the decomposition that comes with death, they will put on in that moment, that twinkling of an eye, an incorruptible form.

And then look at the second category. And this mortal has put on immortality. This living, breathing being at the time Jesus returns will also experience transformation. Immortality. OK. "When this corruptible is put on incorruption and this mortal is put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory."

Now Paul is quoting from an Old Testament source. He's quoting the prophet Isaiah. When he says it is written, he's quoting the prophet Isaiah. Before I unpack that a little bit, let me tell you about a preacher.

There is a preacher of the old school, but he speaks as boldly as ever. He is not popular, though the world is his parish. And he travels every part of the globe and speaks in every language. He visits the poor, he calls upon the rich. He preaches to people of every religion and no religion.

And the subject of his sermon is always the same. He is an eloquent preacher, often stirring feelings which no other preacher could in bringing tears to eyes that never weep. His arguments none are able to refute, nor is there any heart that has remained unmoved by the force of his appeals. He shatters the life with his message. Most people hate him, everyone fears him. The name of this preacher is death. Every tombstone is his pulpit. Every newspaper prints his text. And some day, every one of you will be his sermon.

What Paul is announcing is what the prophets predicted, that one day that preacher will be retired. One day that preacher will not have a job left. One day that preacher will go into that good night. One day death itself is going to die. That's the quote that he is making when he says death is swallowed up in victory.

Now Paul is making a reference, I mentioned, to Isaiah Chapter 25. But also Hosea Chapter 13. Allow me to read these to you. Isaiah. "He will swallow up death forever, the Lord with all wipe away tears from all faces."

This is now Hosea 13. God speaking. "I will ransom them from the power of the grave, I will redeem them from death." Now listen to what God says. "Oh death, I will be your plagues. Oh grave, I will be your destruction." God is announcing to death he's going to end it. He's going to destroy death.

The language is strong, by the way. Death is swallowed up in victory in Verse 54. The word swallowed means eaten up, totally consumed. The prophets predicted the day when death would die. The stinger would be removed.

Some of you who know church history have heard of a story called The 40 Martyrs of Sebaste. In 320 AD, the emperor of the eastern part of the empire named Licinius decided that all of his soldiers must pay tribute to the god he worshipped, the pagan Roman god on a certain day.

In the famed 12th legion of Rome there were 40 soldiers who said, we will not pay homage to your God. These 40 soldiers were believers in Christ. And they announced to the emperor, you can have our armor, you can have our bodies, but our hearts belong to Christ.

So he decided to make a show of them. He would march them onto a frozen lake. It was in the dead of winter in the evening. He would strip them naked, march them to a frozen lake where they would be exposed to the elements and die through the night. 40 of them went out there.

When they were out there on the lake, they began singing songs of victory. Victory. One of them even shouted back, death just ushers in our life. But through the night one of these soldiers broke because the emperor said, if you only, simply, deny your Christ, I'll give you a warm bath and we'll take care of you. One decided that was an offer he wanted to take, so he broke the rank, denied Christ, got warm.

So there's 39 who died by exposure and cold that night. In the morning when the other Roman soldiers went out to bury the dead, they found not 39, but 40. 40 dead men. What had happened was there was an officer who was watching it all happen and when that one came back and defected, but he saw the courage of those who remained, he decided that he would disrobe and walk out into the cold and confess Jesus as his savior and died with them.

So 39 soldiers and one Roman officer faced death because the sting of death had gone. That's what Verse 55 is all about. Look at it. "Oh death, where is your sting? Oh Hades, or grave, where is your victory?"

Do you know that's a taunt? It's written in a poetic form. If you have a Bible, you can look at it on the page. See how it's indented a little bit, set like a poetry would be given? That's because it's a special form in the language. It's a taunting song. Some even believe that at the rapture, were going to be singing that song as we go up. I don't know if that's true or not, someone just supposes that. If that's true, better memorize it now. It's a short song.

[LAUGHTER]

But it's a good thing to say. I mean, it's fun, isn't it? It's like, na-ne-na-ne-na-na, Oh death, where is your sting? And it's just taunting death.

[LAUGHTER]

Death is powerless. Dying holds no dread. The grave holds no grief. That's what's meant by it. Let me give you a third factor that points to our final victory. Our battles. Now listen to me, you fight these battles. We all do. Our present battles anticipate our victory. Verse 56. "The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law, but thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ".

Listen, we've had a life-long battle with our old nature, the flesh. I have, have you? I've always struggled with it, ever since I became a Christian. The flesh and the spirit, Galatians 5 says. The flesh wars against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh. They are contrary to each other. But the battle itself anticipates a victory. All battles anticipate a victory, right? I mean, somebody is going to win and somebody is going to lose. Whenever there is a fight, somebody is going to win, somebody's going to lose.

Our battles anticipate our victory because we're on the right side. We're on the winning team. We're on the winning side. So though you experience hardships, and battles, and temptations, and all that stuff, you're on the winning side. It anticipates a victory that is coming that is talked about here.

Now I want to unpack a single verse. Verse 56. "The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law." You see, death would have no sting at all were it not for sin." You know, the one thing that makes people afraid to die, you know what that is? It's their consciousness of unforgiven sin. That's what gives the bite the sting to death.

You take that away, there's no sting, there's no fear. But it's that consciousness of unforgiven sin. Even the unbeliever has this stinging, nagging, edgy truth or thought that goes through his or her mind when they approach death. What if those Christians are right after all? What if I face a Christ-less eternity and my sins are not paid for and I stand before a holy God and I have unforgiven sin that has not been dealt with. What if they're right? That's the sting. That's the stinger that is in death.

And then he says this, "The strength of sin is the law." So death would have no sting were it not for sin, sin would have no sting were it not for the law. All right? You know this by now. We know that the law of Moses came along, and when the law of Moses came along, all the do's and don'ts, the Ten Commandments, that didn't help our problem. That just articulated our problem because the law said don't do this, don't do that, don't do this, don't do that. And you look at it and go, oops, done them all.

[LAUGHTER]

Failed, failed, failed, failed. So the law comes along, doesn't help us. It makes matters worse because it clearly articulates what our problem is. I've told you before, a couple weeks ago, if you remember, that the law of Moses is sort of like a spotlight in a mirror. The spotlight shines on you and you see every flaw. The mirror is in front of you, so you get a good picture of yourself.

So you look in the mirror with a bright spot light and you go, yuck. That's what the law does. The law makes you go yuck. This is why for a person to say I'm going to get to heaven by working hard and keeping all the laws and the rules is as dumb as saying I'm going to clean my body by taking the mirror off the wall and scrubbing myself with it. It has no power to do that. It wasn't intended to do that. It was simply meant to show you the problem.

So here we are. We as Christians experience this unique battle of the flesh against the spirit, but the fact that we struggle anticipates the victory. Why? Because Jesus promised eternal life to all those who have failed but simply trusted.

You've sinned, you've fallen, you failed, yes. But you trust in Jesus, he's promised that it's going to end up in victory. That's why he says in the next verse, "but thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

[APPLAUSE]

Yeah.

[APPLAUSE]

I got a call from a friend this week whose brother died, just two days ago his brother was killed in an accident, his older brother. And through the tears my friend said, you know, Skip, I look at this as a mercy of God, severe mercy. He said, my brother struggled with all sorts of activities. He was a believer. He loved Jesus, but he struggled with all sorts of activities. And I see the Lord taking him as a mercy, a severe mercy, because he's not struggling with those things anymore. He is facing absolute and total victory at this moment.

You know, when some insects bite people they leave their stinger embedded in the flesh. And it is well known that when they leave their stinger in the flesh, the insect will die, because they're robbed of their sting, their ability to defend themselves, and they will naturally and quickly die.

In a very real sense, death stung itself to death when it bit Jesus. It emptied all of its venom, all of its poison on him. And now the King of terrors is robbed of his terror. Now death is defanged, and whenever death is defanged, the death is your friend.

It's your friend. Isn't that what Paul said? For me to live as Christ and to die as what?

Gain.

Gain. Death is your friend. Now we'll close with this. Look at Verse 58. This is the fourth and final factor that points to our final victory. "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord."

Now Paul does this a lot. He loves to end a theological truth with a therefore. He's always the practical apostle. And simply put, theology should always lead to practicality. Information should always lead to transformation. And so the truth of the resurrection changes everything.

First of all, Jesus' resurrection. If Jesus can do that, if that is possible for him to get up from the grave, then anything's possible. If dead people can live again, anything's possible. If that guy that we killed is now running around talking to people and ascends into heaven, if that's possible, then when he said I will grant you resurrected life, that is also possible.

So all of that to say therefore. Here's the truth that ought to affect the way we live. He says be steadfast, be immovable. Or stand your guard. Stay at your post. Don't deviate from the gospel.

Now we're dealing with your own deep personal convictions. We all have them. We all have beliefs. You have beliefs, you have convictions deeply held. I don't know what they are. But some people's convictions are so deep and so longstanding, they last about a month.

I am so committed to Christ, I'm going to follow him. But then the next month comes along and a little bit of trouble happens and they decide I quit, I'm not coming to church anymore. I'm not reading my Bible anymore. He says, "because of this truth, be steadfast, be immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord."

I'll put it this way, don't stop reading your bibles. Don't stop coming to church. Don't stop praying to God. Don't stop fighting temptation. Stand your ground. You know, actually you don't know when we're going to die. You might think you do, but we don't. So pointing at every man to die once. But barring the rapture of the church, it's going to come.

I asked you a question at the beginning. I said I don't know how you feel about that. Most people spend their waking moments not thinking about it, wanting to think of anything but that, trying to forget that. But there were two men, two buddies, named Bob and Stan, both of them loved baseball. One night at a baseball game together they entered into a little pact. They decided that whoever dies first would send a message somehow from heaven to the remaining buddy on Earth to see if there really is baseball in heaven.

[LAUGHTER]

Well, Bob died, leaving Stan his buddy to go to the games alone. And after a while, and it was quite a while, eventually Bob managed a way to communicate with Stan on earth, and he said, you know buddy, I've got good news and I've got bad news. The good news, there is baseball in heaven. You ought to see Mickey Mantle. He can hit a home run that goes a mile. Babe Ruth is running bases. It's unbelievable. This really is baseball heaven.

So Stan with a big smile thought about that, and then he just wondered what on earth could then be bad news? So he said, what's the bad news? And after a long pause his buddy said, the bad news is you're scheduled to pitch up here tomorrow night.

[LAUGHTER]

I don't know, I'm thinking that's good news, not bad news, if the sting is removed. Once the sting is removed and the venom displaced, bring it on. Bring it on. I discovered that opposums-- I don't like opossums-- but I discovered they're smart. I have my own reasons why I don't like them, but let me just tell you why they're smart. A opossum will not go into an animal's hole if it only sees one set of tracks. Won't go in. If it sees two sets of tracks it will go in.

Two sets of tracks. One set means the animal is in there. Two sets means there's something else in there with it, which displaces the odds a bit better. If he sees two sets of tracks, he'll go in. We don't need to fear death because when we look at the grave and when we look at the tomb, there's another set of tracks that has already left. Jesus went into the grave, Jesus got out of the grave. He went in dead and he walked out alive. And because of that he said, if I live, you will live.

Father, thank you for the hope of the resurrection. Not just Jesus' resurrection, but our own. These bodies will be raised, although they will be in a glorified state. They will look and act much different than they do now. We're so thankful, for that in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye at that last trumpet, transformation. That lifted Paul out of the doldrums of prison and weariness of travel to say thanks be to God for such a victory.

I pray for those who may be here today who have not experienced that victory. There is still that nagging, burring edge, that sting of death. Death still has a sting. There is sin not dealt with, unforgiven, unatoned for, has not been brought to the cross.

I pray for those, Lord, who may be trusting in themselves, or in keeping rules and laws, rituals. I pray they would stop and turn and trust, trust in Jesus that he's the only perfect life that ever lived and the only atoning death that ever occurred.

If you're here this morning and you don't know Jesus, that sting of death is still there. It's in your consciousness. You haven't given your life to Christ yet, or maybe you've wandered away from him and you need to come back.

Why don't you talk to him right now? Why don't you do something about it right now? Why don't you say to him, right where you're seated, a simple prayer? I'll give you some words that I suggest you say to him. If you want to, you can say it inwardly. If you're bold enough, say it outwardly, right where you're sitting.

Say, Lord, I give you my life. I admit I'm a sinner. Forgive me. I believe in Jesus Christ. I believe he died for me. He shed his blood for me. And he rose from the dead for me. Thus, death has lost its sting.

I turn from my past, I repent. I turn to Jesus as Savior. I want to follow him as Lord. Help me. Help me, in Jesus' name. Amen.

Because Jesus defeated death and has given us eternal life, we should be steadfast in him. We want to know what truth from this series stuck out to you and how you'll apply that truth. Email us at mystory@calvaryabq.org.

And just a reminder, you can check out Battledrums album, "The War is Over", on iTunes, Google Play, or battledrumsmusic.com. Thank you for joining us for this teaching from Skip Heitzig of Calvary Albuquerque.

Additional Messages in this Series

Show expand

 
Date Title   Watch Listen Notes Share Save Buy
7/12/2015
completed
resume  
The Light Has Come
John 1:1-9
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
Music is an integral part of the human experience and expresses our deepest feelings, fears, and hopes. Worship music in particular conveys our dependence on God and celebration of Him. Our worship team has written fresh expressions of praise in their brand-new project, The War Is Over. This summer, we will consider the biblical themes from which these songs are drawn. "The Light Has Come" is a song that celebrates one of the great themes of John’s gospel—God’s life that enlightens us has come in the person of Jesus Christ.
Message Trailer
WatchClosed Captioned
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Outline
Detailed Notes
Study GuideTranscript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
7/19/2015
completed
resume  
Rend the Heavens
Isaiah 64
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
The song "Rend the Heavens," written by our worship team, echoes words first uttered and written by the prophet Isaiah. His heartfelt cry for his people was that they would experience the presence of God in the most profound way. It is our prayer that we would all do the same. As we examine Isaiah's plea, we'll see how it has been answered and yet awaits a further and fuller answer. His prayer shows us three incentives in our relationship to God.
Message Trailer
WatchClosed Captioned
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Outline
Detailed Notes
Study GuideTranscript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
7/26/2015
completed
resume  
Our God Will Fight for Us
Nehemiah 4
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
Nothing is more comforting in war than knowing you’re on the winning side. When you face a hostile enemy with the knowledge that your cause is just, your resources are many, and your companions are brave, you’re ready for anything. And when you have a Commanding Officer who has never lost a battle, your confidence level is at an all-time high. Our worship team wrote the song “Our God Will Fight for Us” with these thoughts in mind. Let’s consider a fourfold strategy for facing the battles in our lives.
Message Trailer
WatchClosed Captioned
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Outline
Detailed Notes
Study GuideTranscript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
8/2/2015
completed
resume  
Now I Live
Romans 5-6
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
Our worship team has managed to put the most salient truths of the Christian experience into this single song. Every step detailed in this section of Paul’s letter to the Romans is expressed in condensed form in this new anthem of praise. Today we will walk through the four essential steps of spiritual growth and examine where we are in relationship to them. Some may still be on the first step, while others have camped on the second and third. The challenge from Paul’s message is to press forward to that fourth step of triumph.
Message Trailer
WatchClosed Captioned
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Outline
Detailed Notes
Study GuideTranscript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
8/9/2015
completed
resume  
The Valley
Psalm 23
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
Everyone knows pain and suffering to some degree. It’s guaranteed for all. As Job said, "Man is born to trouble, as the sparks fly upward" (Job 5:7). He meant that hardship is as predictable as flames and flickers rising when a fire is lit. King David poetically referred to such adversity as walking down into a valley. Though everyone suffers, not all suffer well. Today we rediscover why the valleys are necessary and how they can even be rewarding.
Message Trailer
WatchClosed Captioned
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Outline
Detailed Notes
Study GuideTranscript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
8/23/2015
completed
resume  
Let His Love In
1 John 3:1-3
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
The heart is like a strong fortress that doesn’t easily admit outside forces in, even if God Himself is the One who is knocking at the door. I’ve found that even Christians can have a difficult time believing that God really loves them, and few experience that love regularly. Our Battledrums worship team has composed a song with this in mind, inviting you to let His love in. Our text in 1 John is a survey of this incomparable love of God, and will help you open your heart to it.
Message Trailer
WatchClosed Captioned
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Outline
Detailed Notes
Study GuideTranscript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
8/30/2015
completed
resume  
All to You
Matthew 11:1-11
Nate Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
In times of difficulty, we tend to ask God, "Why am I going through this? Is this really Your will for my life?" We expect God to solve all our problems, when really He wants to use the problems to work on us. In this message, Nate Heitzig explains that though external difficulties can lead to internal doubts, God refocuses us by giving us eternal direction.
Message Trailer
WatchClosed Captioned
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Outline
Study GuideTranscript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
9/6/2015
completed
resume  
By Your Stripes
Isaiah 53:4-6
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
Today I bring you "Christianity 101." These verses in Isaiah not only capture the heart of our worship team’s song, but they present the very heart of the gospel itself. These three monumental truths are the cornerstones of the Christian faith and show our need for Jesus Christ. Though the passage itself highlights many profound aspects of the person and work of Christ, I want to keep it simple and confine it to three. Let’s discover the love of God afresh.
Message Trailer
WatchClosed Captioned
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Outline
Detailed Notes
Study GuideTranscript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
9/13/2015
completed
resume  
Great and Awesome
Daniel 9:1-19
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
Have you ever been shaken to the core, disillusioned, and disheartened? When such times occur and fear rises up inside of you, what assurance do you have that life will get better and you’ll be able to even go on? This song penned by our Battledrums worship team speaks to this, and Daniel the prophet instructs us with his prayer. Daniel held onto three assurances that God’s work in us and through us isn’t over but will keep marching on.
Message Trailer
WatchClosed Captioned
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Outline
Detailed Notes
Study GuideTranscript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
There are 9 additional messages in this series.
© Copyright 2024 Connection Communications | 1-800-922-1888