Victory In Jesus (Part 2)

Thanks for tuning in to No Compromise Radio with pastor and author, Dr. Mike Avendrock. Today on No Compromise Radio, we'll be hearing

Pastor Mike open the Word of God in a recent message he preached at Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston, Massachusetts.

Now let's join Pastor Mike in progress as he preaches through the scriptures verse by verse with No Compromise.

Turn your Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 15, victory in Christ Jesus. Victory over death, victory over sin, victory over the law.

When Jesus returns, how will your body be changed so that it is fit for heaven?

These truths aren't just intellectual truths. These truths help you live well. These truths help you die well.

These are the truths that I needed when I was standing there in 1989 in Nebraska outside as they buried my father and I'm crying.

The only thing I really remember is I couldn't see well because my tears are freezing in my eyes.

I have no idea what's going on. I don't understand anything. I don't know anything about the Bible. I'm not a

Christian. At the time when you're the saddest, Paul says, listen, death is swallowed up in victory for the

Christian. Death is dead. I always like to give a little something for the kids, so this is the kids moment.

If you're young, it's for you. Ding dong, death is dead. The death of death.

God keeps his promises. The promise was in Isaiah 25 .8. Let me read it to you. He will swallow up death forever and the

Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, including maybe frozen tears, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth for the

Lord has spoken. And if the Lord speaks, he's going to do what he says, and he has said in Isaiah 25,

I'm going to swallow death whole. Death is done. You get new resurrected bodies, and if you die on this earth and you get a resurrected body, death is over because you're alive.

The language of Isaiah in Isaiah 25 .7, just before this, it's like you take a death shroud when somebody dies, and you finally just have to take that shroud, that sheet, and you pull it up all the way over their face.

Paul could be saying, you know, when it comes to death, the death shroud is put over death itself.

Now, if you look at the passage there, swallowed up in victory, why would he use language like that? Swallowed up.

Well, when you swallow something, if there's a predator that swallows an animal with overwhelming power, nothing is left behind.

So you've got the big anaconda, the 10 -foot anaconda, and it comes and it swallows a rabbit.

When that rabbit is halfway through the anaconda, weeks later, just like a big bulge in there, what percent of victory do you grant the anaconda versus the rabbit?

Hamas, we won, England, Israel's England, did you know that in Bible prophecy?

Gog and Magog. Excuse me. Hamas says, we win this latest skirmish. Israel said, no, we win.

Who wins? If something's swallowed, you all say, the thing that swallowed the other thing obviously is the victor.

No wonder cannibals not only kill people in their tribe warfare, but to make sure everyone knows that they're completely destroyed, they eat their flesh.

Have a nice lunch. See, you're all paying attention, isn't this good?

Overwhelming power, overwhelming victory, overwhelming defeat. Death is swallowed.

That's the language. How glorious is it going to be? Some of you are old enough to know what a newspaper is and some of you are old enough to know that you used to read newspapers and you'd start with what section?

The obituary to see if you're still alive. How about the death of obituaries? Obituaries swallowed whole, no trace left.

Jesus triumphs over death. He triumphs over death at the cross and he triumphs over our death by giving us a new body, whether our body's in the ground and it's raised, 1

Thessalonians, or whether we're still alive at the return of Christ. It's all in the

Bible. We should trust God with his promises. Secondly, the second trumpet blast of praise should praise

God, number one, because he keeps his promises. Forget promise keepers movement. We break our promises, but every promise is yes and amen in Christ Jesus.

Secondly, praise God because there's victory over death. We just said this earlier,

I know, but this is like a victory lap. I wanted to emphasize scripture being fulfilled in verse 54.

Now I want to emphasize the death of death here in verse 55. We already won over death, verse 54, but here comes the extra victory lap for emphasis.

And by the way, this language right here is taunting language.

It's ha. You ever heard a preacher say that from the pulpit? Okay, I'll do it again.

So you're laughing, but that's exactly what it is. Death. Now, how many of you do that now when you go to a funeral, right?

You walk in, I tell my kids, look, and there's an open casket over there. Let me remind you of what our death protocol is.

That is, Jesus could go to that body like he did Lazarus and says, get up. Number two, son, daughters, you're going to be in that casket one day unless the

Lord returns. Number three, I want you to go up to that body and just take a good look at it and you'll realize there's no soul in it.

And then you go comfort the family. You don't have to say anything. You just say, I love you, sorry.

But when I watch people go up to the casket, I don't see too many taunting. They're usually crying.

They're usually afraid to look at the body. They're usually kneeling down and crossing themselves. When I went to Blake Shepard's funeral at the open casket viewing,

Blake was a special needs kid here at the church. Died a couple of years ago. And he had special Olympics kids that he did things with.

And so the special Olympic kids were brought in to the funeral home. And so the one young man didn't know how to process death.

And so he stood there in front of Blake's casket and he just put his hands on his head and on his ears.

He didn't want to process it. Oh, no, no, no, no, no. I don't want this in my mind. I can't do this.

By the way, a really neat story. Another kid came over to Nancy Shepard and took off his gold medal that he won in the special Olympics and put it on Nancy's head.

Very sweet. Not much taunting going on in a funeral home.

But here, Paul taunts. Take a look. Verse 55. Oh, death, where's your victory?

Oh, death, where is your sting? Now, earlier he quotes

Isaiah 25, verse 8. Now he quotes Hosea 13, 14.

Loosely quoting, I admit, but very reminiscent of, at minimum, a rough translation at a maximum,

Hosea 13, 14. You can probably notice in your Bibles if it's NAS, it's all capitals to let you know that it was an

Old Testament quote. So first Isaiah 25, 8. Now Hosea 13, 14. Let me read to you

Hosea 13, 14. Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol? Shall I redeem them from death?

Oh, death, where are your plagues? Oh, Sheol, where is your sting? Compassion is hidden from my eyes.

Hosea 13, 14. Where's the sting of death?

Because Jesus has absorbed the sting of death at Calvary. The law that we broke,

God's holy and righteous law, Jesus absorbs the wrath we deserve. He stands in our place.

He intercepts it. He becomes our advocate and our mediator. And he is not only the high priest, but he's also the sacrifice.

And Jesus is sacrificed not for his own sins, but for our sins. And he absorbs the sting.

So when you get stung by a bee, how many times can it sting you? That's why when

I'm biking and a bee flies into my jersey, into my biking jersey,

I'm always hopeful that it's a bee. I don't want anything to fly in, but I'd rather have a bee than a wasp.

Why? Because the bee stings one time and it can't sting anymore. The wasp just stings you right on down the side of your side.

Where's the stinger in the bee of death if Jesus has already absorbed it?

That's the point. Jesus absorbs the sting by his life, culminated in Calvary, confirmed by the resurrection.

And so Paul quotes freely with a sneer. He quotes Hosea 13, 14.

Here's defiance. It's the taunt. Ha, ha. Death, where is your sting?

Cancerous, malignant death, killer, where's the sting?

He's calling death to judgment is what he's doing. Now, 1

Corinthians chapter 15 starts off with Jesus paying for our sins. And if Jesus has paid for our sins, the plan of God, secured by the death of Christ, is going to happen.

The plan of God is to raise every Christian's body, whether they're dead in the ground or whether they're alive.

Number three, praise God because there's victory over sin and the law. Christians should be praising people.

They should be thanking God for what he has done. They should be joyful, certainly sorrowful, in trials and tears.

We're not robotic, but we should have lots of joy.

Praise God because there's victory over sin and law, verse 56. Number one, because he's kept his word.

Number two, because there's victory over death. Number three, what should the trumpet blast of praise be? Victory over sin and law, verse 56.

Look at these two verities, these two maxims. The sting of death is sin.

The power of sin is the law. So the grim reaper stands with a huge sickle.

The grim reaper is death, and at the end of the sickle is sin. That's the idea here for the language.

He's got the sickle of sin at the end to cut. And here it says the sting of death is sin.

The weapon of death is sin. So when sin has been dealt with, the power of death has been overcome.

If there were no sin to deal with, death would just be an entrance into eternity.

It still is, but there's sin to be dealt with, and Jesus dealt with it.

John Calvin said death has no other weapon except sin. And it is the law of God that gives that sting its deadly power.

Sin pardoned, death has no sting. Law, which is holy, good, and righteous, Romans 7 says, just exacerbates our sin because it shows us our sin.

Let me read to you Romans 7 and see if you listen to the language of sin and death and law. What shall we say?

That the law is sin by no means. Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin.

For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, You shall not covet.

But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness.

For apart from the law, sin lies dead. I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died.

The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.

So the law is holy and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. But that which is good then brings death to me?

By no means. It was sin producing death in me through what is good in order that sin might be shown to be sin.

And through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure. The sting of death is sin.

And the power of sin is from the law. Paul says those things are done away with.

Number four, and finally for this morning, trumpet blast of praise for those who need to be reminded about Christ's work and its implications,

His implications. Praise God because this is all God's victory. Praise God because it's all

God's victory, verse 57. I mean, how miserable would we actually be if we had to make this victory happen?

You just hear all the proverbial cliches that the coaches give to people before the big game.

They put on their cleats just like we do. Got to play full 60 minutes. Anything can happen.

I mean, I don't know what the cliches are, but there are a lot. How about the cliches that you could hear when you have to try to save yourself and earn your salvation through self -victory, through works, through merits, through sacraments, through being good?

How are we going to overcome death? Everything would be lost, but, verse 57, thanks.

Actually, where do we get the word? Grace. Chorus. Be to God. Present tense.

Who keeps on giving us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Friends, it isn't even your faith that gives you victory. We sing the song, faith is the victory, faith is the...

That's not how it goes, obviously, with my tone of voice, my voice. Faith is a victory that overcame the world?

Really? Did faith die on the cross? Did faith live a perfect life? Was faith raised from the dead?

No, what's the text say? But thanks be to God. And it's kind of a song, almost.

The Corinthians knew songs of victory that were played at the Isthmus Games. Maybe they knew about songs at the

Olympic Games. And now they... Paul kind of makes up his own song. I did some study this week.

Fight songs. Now, I graduated from the University of Nebraska. We have the dopiest fight song.

Where the girls are the fairest, the boys are the squarest. Raw. Win.

Victory. Notre Dame's is fairly impressive with the tune.

But the school name and the words both drive me insane, so I can't say that's a good one. But Michigan.

Anybody here from Michigan? The tune

I won't sing, but the song is called The Victors. Paul is picking up on a song like this that someone would sing.

Obviously not this one. Actually, the Victors, University of Michigan song, was written in 1898 by Louis Abele as they beat the

University of Chicago in the last minute to win the Western Conference Championship. John Phillips Sousa said of the

Victors song, it was the greatest college fight song ever written. It was so popular that when

Gerald Ford, University of Michigan grad, walked in as president, they said, forget

Hail to the Chief, play The Victors. But you know what?

Compared to this victory song of Jesus, something just kind of loses its flavor. Hail to the

Victors, valiant. So far, so good. Hail to the conquering heroes. Hail, hail to Michigan, the leaders and the best.

Hail to the Victors, valiant. Hail to the conquering heroes. Hail, hail to Michigan, the champions of the

West. Try singing that to a corpse, even with the brass.

But look at the text. The God who keeps on giving victory. Jesus, the

God who redeemed us from our sins. Jesus, the life -giving spirit. Forget being the most pitiful of all men.

Here, it's the God who keeps on giving victory. When you see that Nike swoosh, here's what

I want you to think. Victory. Nakao. Greek for what? Victory.

Next time you see a swoosh, I want you to think 1 Corinthians 15 57. Victory. Conquering death.

Jesus has victory, and now he grants victory to all of his children. Christ is victorious over death.

2 Timothy chapter 1, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

Christ satisfied the law's claims, becoming a curse for us. Galatians 3.

I wonder if you could say that today. I know some of you are struggling. Health, money, jobs, issues, relationships.

I wonder if you could still say, though, if you're a Christian, but thanks be to God. All these other things are going on, but you know,

I'm going to get a new body one day. Jesus has accomplished victory for me.

And even here, if you look at the text, full title of our Lord. Lord Jesus Christ. He's God the sovereign one.

He's Jesus the man. And he's Christ the God's Messiah. Gloom and doom.

The world's coming to an end. I think maybe this would have been a good fight song for some of you the day after the presidential elections.

I think the universe is still being held up by the powerful right hand of God. What's our response to death's death and the assurance that we get a new body, whether we die today or whether we are alive when

Jesus comes back? The assurance is, Jesus has been victorious over death.

So how does this play into the next time you go to somebody's hospital bed and they're laying there and they're kind of gray and they're dying.

What do you do? What if you're that person? Well, if they're not a

Christian, of course you preach the gospel of grace to them. Sovereign grace. Who Christ is and what he's accomplished.

Call them to repent and to believe. But if it's a Christian, what do you do? Friends, here is your new chapter.

Here is your new death taunt. Here is your new assurance based on scripture, old and new. There's victory over the grave.

We need people to know how to die well. No wonder Wesley said Christians die well. Well, you don't die well because you don't know anything and say, my creed is the

Bible. I don't want to get into doctrine. I just listened to a guy yesterday online and he said, doctrine basically is for people who just want to know a bunch of head knowledge.

Well, doctrine in this particular case is, how do I die well? My mother was dying.

Probably referenced that a lot lately but I've just been thinking about her for some time. So I wanted to talk to her about the scriptures.

That's what you should do. And then I also pulled out Pilgrim's Progress. John Bunyan.

And at the end, Bunyan's character, Christian, has to cross the river death.

He's got to drown first basically to get to heaven. And all these things coalesce and I think you'll see a review of the sermon in Bunyan's words for Christian.

If you haven't read it, you ought to. And if not, these would be good to pick up at somebody's deathbed after you've preached the gospel to them or read them 1

Corinthians. Christian then and his companion asked the men to go along with them so they told them that they would.

But they said, you must obtain it by your own faith. So I saw in my dream that they went on until they came inside of the gate, heaven.

Now I further saw the betwixt them and the gate was a river, death. There was no bridge to go over and the river was very deep.

At the site therefore of this river, the pilgrims were very much stunned. But the men that went with them said, you must go through or you cannot come to the gate.

The pilgrims then began to inquire if there was no other way to the gate. To which they answered, yes, but there hath not any save two.

Enoch and Elijah had been permitted to tread that path since the foundation of the world, nor shall until the last trumpet shall sound.

The pilgrims then, especially Christian, began to despond in their mind and look this way and that, but no other way could be found by them by which they might escape the river.

They asked the men if the waters were of all depth. They said no, yet they could not help them in that case, for said they, you shall find it deeper or shallower as you believe in the king of the place.

They addressed themselves to the water. And entering, Christian began to sink and crying out, whose good friend

Hopeful, he said, I sink in deep waters. The billows go over my head. All his waves go over me. Hopeful said, be of good cheer, my brother.

I feel the bottom and it is good. Then Christian said, ah, my friend, the sorrows of death have compassed me about.

I shall not see the land that flows with milk and honey. And with that, a great distress and horror fell upon Christian so that he could not see before him.

In a measure, he lost his senses. He could not remember any of the talk of the sweet refreshments that had met with him in the way of his

Christian pilgrimage. Hopeful, therefore, here had much ado to keep his brother's head above water.

Yes, sometimes he would quite have gone down until then ere a while he would raise him up again half dead.

Hopeful added these words, be of good cheer, Christian. Jesus maketh thee whole. And with that,

Christian broke out with a loud voice. Oh, I see him again. And he tells me, when thou passest through the waters,

I will be with thee. They will not overflow thee. Then they both took courage and the enemy was after that as still as a stone until they were gone over the river.

Christian, therefore, presently found ground to stand upon. And so it followed that the rest of the river was but shallow.

Thus they got over. The two men went into the gate and low as they entered, they were transfigured and they put on raiment that shone like gold.

There were also they that met them with harps and crowns and gave them crowns and token of honor.

Enter ye into the joy of your Lord. Blessing and honor and glory and power be unto thee that sitteth upon the throne and unto the

Lamb forever and ever. Now just as the gates were open to let in the men, I looked in after them and behold the city shone like the sun.

The streets were paved with gold and in them walked many men with crowns on their heads, palms in their hands and golden harps to sing praises.

They were also of them that had wings and they answered one another without intermission. Holy, holy, holy is the

Lord God Almighty. The thoughts and opinions expressed on No Compromise Radio do not necessarily reflect those of WVNE, its staff or management.