A Better Resurrection and a World Not Worthy (Hebrews 11:35, 38)

Oh Lord, my rock, greatest treasure of my longing soul

My God, like you there is no other

True delight is found in you

Your grace, too deep to fathom

Exceeds the heavens' reach Your truth, a fount of perfect wisdom

My highest good Oh Lord, defend my soul

To fight the cruel, my shield is hateful

My soul is surrounded with tides of sorrow

My joy, when trials are abound

For faithful refugees Gracious Savior of my ruin

My guilt and cross laid on your shoulders

In my place, you suffered let it

You rose, the grave and death are conquered

Wisdom once devised a plan Where all our sin and pride

Was placed upon the perfect Lamb Who suffered, bled and died

The wisdom of a sovereign God Whose greatness will be shown

When those who crucified your Son Rejoice around your throne

And Lord, that you send your

Son for us I gladly count my life as lost

That I might come to know The glory of the glorious Righteousness was there revealed

That sets the guilty free That justifies the godly men

And calls the filthy clean A righteousness that proved to all

That justice has been met I'm gladly satisfied with one atoning death

And Lord, that you send your

Son for us It's lost that I might come to know

The glory of mercy now has been proclaimed

For those who would believe A love incomprehensible

Our minds could not conceive A mercy that forgives my sin

That makes me like your Son And now

I'm loved forevermore Because of what you've done

And oh, the glory of the cross That you would send your

Son for us I gladly count my life as lost

That I might come to know The glory of your

Son for us And I gladly count my life as lost

That I might come to know The glory of your

Son Holy Judge, here is my heart What can I say to you?

Well, good morning, everyone. Welcome. Please come inside and find your seat. We're going to begin with a couple of announcements.

There are a number of pertinent announcements in your bulletin, so please take note of those. And then there's just one special one that I wanted to make you aware of, and this is a bit of a longer announcement.

Some of you probably have seen the trailer that is online for a movie that's coming out called Cessationist. It's done by Les Lamphere, who did the movie

Calvinist and Spirit and Truth about the regular principle of worship. He's a filmmaker.

Back at G3's national conference last fall, I got kind of roped into doing this interview.

I didn't wake up in the morning expecting to do an interview or scheduled to do an interview, but I kind of got roped into doing one for this movie.

And that would become obvious to you if you watch the trailer, because you'll see guys in three -piece suits and a shirt and a tie and a bow tie and a tweed jacket and people looking very professorial and dignified and scholastic.

And then I have this lime green, almost fluorescent Duluth Trading Company polo shirt.

I look like I got pulled off of a paving crew, like I'm a traffic cone.

And I happen to make it into the trailer for a few seconds, only a couple of seconds. I kind of feel like Mike Wazowski, right?

I'm on TV. But there's this brief few moments where I'm in the trailer long enough for that image to kind of get burned into your retina.

And once you see it, you can't unsee it because then everywhere your eyes go, the little green blob also goes. You've seen that happen.

So they promised me at the end of the filming that day that if the movie ended up getting funded, that they would come out to Kootenai and refilm that segment.

And I thought, okay, so there's a chance that this won't see the light of day. Well, it turns out they did the trailer.

I was in it. And then I said to them, okay, if this movie gets funded, you've got to come out and refilm that because nobody was prepared.

They were prepared. I wasn't prepared for that. So they called me this last week. Of course, the movie got funded and they're going to come out to Kootenai and refilm that.

And Justin is going to come over for that. And while I was on the phone with the film crew,

David Lovey is his name. He said, do you know John Sampson? And I said, do you know John Sampson? John is a friend of mine.

He used to be the director of the Trinity Broadcasting Network's local channel in Phoenix, Arizona.

And the Lord saved him out of that years ago. Now he pastors a Reformed Baptist Church in Phoenix. And I've met him a number of times, spent a lot of time with him at Shepherd's Conference.

He's a good man. And he said, would you mind if we flew John Sampson out to do the interview there as well? And I said, no, that makes sense to fly him here rather than your entire film crew down to Phoenix, Arizona.

And he said, well, now speaking of that, if we were to fly a bunch of guys to Kootenai, would we be able to use your building to do the interviews and fly them in?

And that way we've just got a lot more economical way of doing it. And I said, listen, if you guys are going to do that, fly all those guys in at one time, why don't we put on a conference?

We'll call it the cessationist conference. And we'll have all these great guys that you're interviewing for the movie. We'll have them speak at this conference.

We'll put it on over a whole weekend. We've done this before. So three weeks after our

Reformation conference, we're going to have another conference. It's going to be called the cessationist conference. And so Justin is going to be here for that.

John Sampson, Brian Borgman, Kevin Hay, who is a writer for G3. We're hoping to get

O. Palmer Robertson and Robert Godfrey. Some of those names will mean things to some of you. Some of those names won't mean anything to any of you.

And Dan Phillips, who used to run the Pyromaniacs blog with Phil Johnson, he's going to be here as well.

So it's going to be a packed house of some really good guys. They're going to do some filming, and we're going to put that all together with a series of sessions on a

Friday night, an all -day Saturday, and a Sunday morning. And it's going to be kind of our own little cessationist conference.

So I figured that was a good way of exploiting the fact that somebody else is paying to fly all these good people to us.

So that's what we're going to do. November 18th, 19th, and 20th is the dates. It's a Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. So Josh will create a nice website and a registration page and all the good stuff that goes with that.

And I don't know how many people will attend it, but it will be a very good time together. So mark that on your calendar.

I'm excited about it. Turn now, if you will, please, in your Bibles to Revelation chapter 20. Revelation chapter 20.

We're going to read here from Revelation 20 and 21. And I'm not going to do any interpreting now.

So all of our post -millennial and all -millennial friends who are here, you can just relax. We can at least agree as we read

Scripture. Revelation 20. Beginning at verse 1, we're going to read through verses 1 through 6, and then

I'll show you where else we're going to read as we move along. Revelation 20, verse 1. Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand.

And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who was the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.

He threw him into the abyss and shut it and sealed it over him so that he would not deceive the nations any longer until the thousand years were completed.

After these things, he must be released for a short time. Then I saw thrones and they sat on them and judgment was given to them.

And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand.

And they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed.

This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who has part in the first resurrection. Over these, the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.

Verse 11, then I saw a great white throne and him who sat upon it from whose presence earth and heaven fled away and no place was found for them.

And I saw the dead, the great and the small standing before the throne and books were opened and another book was opened, which is the book of life.

And the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them.

And they were judged every one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.

This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Chapter 21, then I saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven and the first earth passed away and there is no longer any sea.

And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, behold, the tabernacle of God is among men and he will dwell among them and they shall be his people and God himself will be among them and he will wipe away every tear from their eyes and there will no longer be any death.

There will no longer be any mourning or crying or pain. The first things have passed away. And he who sits on the throne said, behold,

I'm making all things new. And he said, right, for these words are faithful and true. Then he said to me, it is done.

I am the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost.

He who overcomes will inherit these things and I will bless his God and he will be my son. But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.

You stand with me as we pray. Our most gracious God, we thank you for the blessing of being able to gather together as your people, with your people for fellowship and for worship.

We thank you for the joy that this brings us. It is a taste of heaven when we will gather together with all your elect from all across all the ages to worship you in truth, face to face.

We thank you for the blessing that it is and the privilege that it is to be the bride of Christ called by your name, by your son and the indwelt by the

Holy Spirit for the purpose of worshiping and serving you. We thank you for this salvation that has been brought to us entirely by grace.

We thank you that you have fit us for the world that is to come and this glimpse of the world that is to come should fill our hearts with joy and love and affection for all that you have done in us and for us in your son.

So we rejoice in it, we thank you, we love you and we pray your blessing upon our worship and our fellowship.

We pray that our time spent here would serve to encourage our hearts in the truth and to fix our minds and our hearts upon heavenly things to take our affections off the things of this world and to give us a longing and a desire for the world that is to come.

We love you and we thank you for the hope of the better resurrection which you have given to us in your son because you have loved us before we have loved you.

Thank you in Christ's name. Good morning, let's sing together Christ our glory.

Our rest is in heaven, our rest is not here

Then why should we tremble when trials draw near Be still and remember the worst that can come

But shortens our journey and hastens us home

Christ our glory, Christ our hope

Christ our King forevermore

Be still and remember the worst that can come

But shortens our journey and hastens us home

No hour should be wasted on seeking our joy

And placing our hope in what will be destroyed

We look for a city that hands have not raised

We long for a country that sin has not stained

Christ our glory, Christ our hope

Christ our King forevermore

We look for a city that hands have not raised

We long for a country that sin has not stained

Though trouble and anguish increase all the more

They cannot compare to the glory in store

Come joy or come sorrow, whatever befalls

The light of the Savior will outshine them all

Christ our glory, Christ our hope

Christ our King forevermore

Christ our glory, Christ our hope

Christ our King forevermore Christ our glory,

Christ our hope Christ our King forevermore

Come joy or come sorrow, whatever befalls

The light of the Savior will outshine them all

By faith we see the hand of God Of creation's grand design

In the lives of those who prove his faithfulness

Who walk by faith and not by sight By faith our fathers roamed the earth

With the power of his promise in their hearts Of a holy city built by God's own hand

A place where peace and justice reign We will stand as children of the promise

We will fix our eyes on him, our souls reward

Till the race is finished and the work is done

We'll walk by faith and not by sight By faith the prophets saw the day

When the longed -for Messiah would appear

With the power to break the chains of sin and death

And rise triumphant from the grave By faith the church was called to go

In the power of the Spirit to the lost

To deliver captives and to preach good news

In every corner of the earth We will stand as children of the promise

We will fix our eyes on him, our souls reward

Till the race is finished and the work is done

We'll walk by faith and not by sight By faith a mountain shall be moved

And the power of the gospel shall prevail For we know in Christ all things are possible

For all who call upon his name We will stand as children of the promise

We will fix our eyes on him, our souls reward

Till the race is finished and the work is done

We'll walk by faith and not by sight My heart is filled with thankfulness

To him who bore my, who cut the depths of my disgrace

And gave me life again Who crushed my curse of sinfulness

And clothed me with his light And wore his law of righteousness

With power upon my heart

My heart is filled with thankfulness

To him who walks beside Who floods my weaknesses with strength

And causes fears to thrive Whose every promise is enough

For every step I take Sustaining me with arms of love

And crowning me with praise My heart is filled with thankfulness

To him who reigns above Whose wisdom is my perfect peace

Whose every thought is love For every day

I have honored Is given by the king

So I will give my life, my all

To love and follow him For every day

I have honored Is given by the king

So I will give my life, my all

To love and follow him To love and follow him

In the gospel of Luke, chapter 9, verses 23 to 25, it says, And he was saying to them all,

If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself And take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake, he is the one who will save it.

For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?

We're going to end our music service this morning by singing, Jesus, I, My Cross Have Taken. Jesus, I, my cross have taken

All to leave and follow thee Destined to despise, forsaken

Thou from hence my all shalt be Perish every fond ambition

All I've sought or hoped or known Yet how rich is my condition

God and heaven are still my own

Let the world despise and leave me They have left my sages too

Human hearts and looks deceive me Thou art not like them untrue

Oh, while thou dost smile upon me

God of wisdom, love, and might Fools may hate and friends disown me

Show thy face and all is bright

And may trouble and distress me

Twill but drive me to thy breast For life with trials hard may press me

And will bring me sweeter rest Oh, tis not in grief to harm me

While my love is left to me Oh, for not in joy to charm me

Would that joy unmix with thee

Go then, earthly fame and treasure Come disasters born in vain

In thy service pain is pleasure With thy favor loss is gain

I have called thee Abba, Father I have stayed my heart on thee

Storms may howl and clouds may gather All must work for good to thee

Soul, mend though thy fool salvation Rise o 'er sin and fear and care

Joy to find in every station Something still to do or care

Think what spirit dwells within thee Think what father's smiles are thine

Think that Jesus died to win thee Child of heaven, cast thou away, pie

Haste thee on from grace to glory Armed by faith and winged by prayer

Heaven's eternal days before thee God's own hand shall guide thee there

Soon shall close thy earthly mission Soon shall pass thy pilgrim days

Hope shall change to glad fruition Faith to sight and prayer to grace

You may be seated. You please find your place at Hebrews chapter 11.

Hebrews chapter 11. Before we begin, let's pray together. Father, it is to your word that we turn now with the hope and anticipation that you will speak to us through the pages of Scripture.

It is in your word that we meet you, that we know of your will for us in Christ Jesus. It is by your word that we know of your saving purposes and of our eternal destiny and home.

We pray that you would open our eyes and our hearts to understand the things that are in your word, to see a glimpse of the glory that you have prepared for us and help us to set our affections upon you.

We pray that you would be honored through this time and that you would send your spirit to be our teacher and our guide and that you would be glorified through the revelation of you and your goodness to us in Christ Jesus in whose name we pray.

This sermon is a bit of a housekeeping sermon, kind of a cleanup on aisle 11, Hebrews 11 specifically, because last week we skipped over two phrases that are in this list of things, trials and tribulations that are endured by faith that we find in Hebrews 11.

We looked at verses 33 to 38 and covered the triumphs of faith in verses 33 and 34 and the tribulations of faith in verses 35 through 38 and there are two phrases in there that we made reference to but kind of skipped over in terms of treating them with any depth because if we were to sort of get off in the weeds to talk about those two explanatory phrases it would have detracted from the study of the list itself and the point that the author has in listing both the triumphs and tribulations of faith.

So I promised you last week that we would use this week to focus in on those two phrases. You find one of them in verse 35 and one of them in verse 38.

Let's read together beginning at verse 35. This verse begins the tribulations of faith.

Verse 35, women received back their dead by resurrection and others were tortured not accepting their release so that they might obtain a better resurrection.

And others experienced mockings and scourgings yes also chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword, they went about in sheep skins and goat skins being destitute, afflicted, ill -treated, men of whom the world was not worthy wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground.

The two phrases, one in verse 35 so that they may obtain a better resurrection and one in verse 38, men of whom the world is not worthy.

Those two phrases are not things suffered or enjoyed by faith that kind of fit in with all of the list of triumphs and tribulations of faith that we have in these verses.

They're something of parenthetical statements, kind of explanatory notes that the author gives and these two statements are connected together.

There is a connection. It's not going to appear to you at first glance but I promise you once you see the connection you'll never be able to unsee the connection between these two phrases.

And it's glorious what is contained in them so it's worth our time to spend focused on what is the better resurrection and why is it that the world was not worthy of these men.

I want you to remember the context. The context is the author explaining the blessings and benefits of faith, real saving faith, faith that justifies faith in God's word, taking

God's word at face value and enjoying his promises and trusting in them. And by faith we look as with everyone else in this list, we look for a better world, a better resurrection because we are made for a better world and because we are rejected by the world in which we live now.

This is something that is true of everyone else who is in this list. All the heroes of faith in Hebrews chapter 11, they were all looking forward to and anticipating a better world because they were made for a better world.

Faith fits them for a better world and because they, because of their faith, were unfit for the world in which we currently live.

We hope for a world and we look for a world to come. That's the better resurrection in verse 35. And we are rejected by the world that is and that is the point of the statement in verse 38.

We are men and women of whom the world is not worthy. Let's look at the first phrase, verse 35. The righteous are made for the world that is to come.

The righteous are made for a world that is to come. Hebrews 11, verse 35. Women received back their dead by resurrection and others were tortured not accepting their release so that they may obtain a better resurrection.

The term better sort of speaks of some sort of a comparison that is in the mind of the author and we don't have to go even outside of the verse to understand what he is comparing the better resurrection to.

It is the resurrections mentioned at the beginning of the verse. Women received back their dead by resurrection. That is a reference to at least two instances in the

Old Testament where women received back their dead children by resurrection. One at the hands of Elijah in 1

Kings chapter 17. That was the widow of Zarephath and one at the hands of Elisha in 2 Kings chapter 4, the

Shumanite woman. Those women received back their sons to physical life in this world but those women also would have known that even in receiving back their sons to life that those sons were to die again.

So those women received back their dead by faith, by the faith of Elijah, by the faith of themselves. They received back their dead by resurrection but that was a resurrection that only meant they were restored to life in this world and that eventually those children who were restored to life in this world would themselves eventually die again.

Some are faithful even unto death, suffering torture, verse 35 says, not accepting their release so that they may obtain to a better resurrection.

You see, there is a resurrection that is different than the resurrection at the beginning of verse 35. It's what we would call a better resurrection.

This better resurrection was in fact the Old Testament hope of the Old Testament saints and we can see it in Old Testament passages which

I'm going to read here in just a moment but the instance that the author is referring to in verse 35 when he says others were tortured not accepting their release so that they might obtain a better resurrection, that incident doesn't come from the

Old Testament. What is in mind there in the mind of the author, what is in his mind is an instance from between the writing of the

Old Testament and the writing of the New Testament during that 400 years and I mentioned this last week and I want to read to you again a couple of passages from the book of 2

Maccabees which describes a persecution under Antiochus Epiphanes. 2

Maccabees 6 and 7 describes the instance when Antiochus Epiphanes tried to get the

Jews in Jerusalem, in Israel to apostatize from Yahweh and to deny him and blaspheme him by consuming pork and so they tried to force feed faithful Jews swine's flesh in order to get them to violate the law of God and they resisted even up to the point of death and instead embraced torture and eventually execution rather than apostatize and rather than violate the law and 2

Maccabees describes this incident of a mother with seven sons all who died rather than disobeying

God and the confessions of some of these sons is recorded in 2 Maccabees and listen to them

I read two of them to you last week I'm going to read a third one this week listen to the confession that they have in the hope of a resurrection and keep in mind these things were spoken and written before the

New Testament era before Christ came into the world after the Old Testament the record of the Old Testament was over 2

Maccabees 7 verse 9 and when he was at the last gasp that is one who was being forced to eat swine's flesh or die he said thou miscreant dost release us out of this present life but the king of the world shall raise us up who have died for his laws unto an eternal renewal of life 2

Maccabees 7 10 -11 after him was the third made a mocking stock and when he was required he quickly put out his tongue and stretched forth his hands courageously and nobly said listen to this confession from heaven

I possess these that is hand and tongue from heaven I possess these and for his laws sake

I condemn these and from him I hope to receive these back again that's beautiful it is because of the grace of heaven that I possess this tongue and these hands and for the sake of the laws of him who gave these to me

I will condemn these hands and this tongue to death and from that very one whose laws

I am obeying I hope to receive them back again in eternal life that is a confession a belief in a bodily resurrection 2

Maccabees 7 14 and being come near unto death he said thus it is good to die at the hands of men and look for the hopes which are given by God that we shall be raised up again by him for as for thee thou shalt have no resurrection unto life that is a confession of men and women who were willing to die to be tortured and did not accept their release because they had belief in a better resurrection that belief in a better resurrection was a belief in a literal physical bodily resurrection from the dead in a body that is the bodies in which we live but the bodies that are changed and made fit for an eternal dwelling for the people of God a literal bodily physical resurrection the same body but in a different form and the faithful believe that death in this life leads them to resurrection and eternal life in the life that is to come this was the old testament hope you remember back on resurrection

Sunday in Job chapter 19 I read to you and we looked at the confession that Job gave concerning his body which was rotting away right in front of him

Job said as for me I know that my redeemer lives and at the last he will take a stand on the earth after my skin is destroyed yet from my flesh

I shall see God whom I myself shall behold and whom my eyes will see and not another my heart faints within me that was

Job's confession I know that even after this body perishes and is consumed by worms yet he believed he knows he said

I know that in my own flesh this flesh I myself and not another from this body and not another

I will look and behold my redeemer and see him take his stand upon the earth that's a belief in a confession of bodily resurrection remember

Hebrews chapter 11 says of Abraham that he was willing to offer up Isaac because he considered that God is able to raise people from the dead verse 19 of chapter 11 even from the dead from which he also received him back as a type

Isaiah 26 verse 19 your dead will live the corpses will rise you who lie in the dust awake and shout for joy for your due is as the due of the dawn and the earth will give birth to the departed spirits the

Old Testament prophet says the earth will give birth to the departed spirits Daniel chapter 12 verse 2 many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake these to everlasting life but others to disgrace and everlasting contempt bodily resurrection is not a doctrine invented by New Testament authors it is not a doctrine unheard of until the coming of Christ bodily resurrection was the belief of Old Testament saints who were faithful to the scriptures who could read passages like Abraham offering up Isaac and Job chapter 19 and Isaiah 26 and Daniel 2 and so many other passages in the

Old Testament that describe the resurrection hope of the faithful believer in Yahweh so even between the testaments and prior to the

New Testament you have these robust confessions of belief in a better resurrection this is the

Old Testament hope and by hope we're not talking about something we wish were true but something we have utter confidence is actually true upon which we have set our faith and our confidence and our belief that's what a hope is it's not something it's not wishful thinking it's an expectation an expectation a confidence that we have in something that's the

Old Testament hope this is why Paul in the book of Acts describes the resurrection of the just and the unjust as the hope to which our fathers longed to see in Acts chapter 23 standing before the

Sanhedrin Luke writes but perceiving that one group were Sadducees and the other

Pharisees Paul began crying out in the council brethren I am a Pharisee son of Pharisees and I am on trial for the hope and resurrection of the dead that by the way was a brilliant stroke of genius by the

Apostle Paul because the only thing that the Pharisees and the Sadducees had in common at any time in their existence was their mutual hatred for the

Apostle Paul and his message but when Paul could stand in an assembly where half of them are Sadducees and half of them are

Pharisees and jump on one side and say I affirm that I believe in the hope of the resurrection and that's why

I'm on trial today instantly every Pharisee in that group was on Paul's side and every Sadducee in that group wanted

Paul dead and Paul was able to escape being torn apart in the midst of that assembly simply because of that stroke of genius but notice how he describes his hope

I am on trial for the hope and resurrection of the dead Paul preached a bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ and therefore a bodily resurrection of all those who belong to Jesus Christ since he is the first fruits of that resurrection and for that reason they hated him standing before Felix in Acts chapter 24 verse 15

Paul says this I admit to you that according to the way which they call a sect I do serve the God of our fathers believing everything that is in accordance with the law and what is written in the prophets having a hope in God which these men cherish themselves that there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked

I have the same hope that these men have from the Old Testament Paul says namely the hope that there will certainly be a resurrection of the righteous and the wicked standing before Agrippa in Acts chapter 26 verse 6 through 8

Paul says now I am standing trial for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers the promise to which our twelve tribes hope to attain as they earnestly serve

God night and day and for this hope O King I am being accused by the Jews what hope he answers it by asking them why is it considered incredible among you people if God does raise the dead that's the hope so since that is the hope to which all

Old Testament say it's long that that is the hope to which all of the twelve tribes hope to attain someday that resurrection of the dead if I preach that resurrection since I am simply proclaiming the very thing that all of the

Old Testament prophets promised and all of the Old Testament anticipated and all the saints of the Old Testament could expect since I'm proclaiming that why am

I on trial why is it considered unbelievable to you people if God should raise the dead but that's the hope of the

Old Testament and the New Testament and look at verse 35 of chapter 11 this resurrection to which we hope to attain this resurrection which is our hope is called a better resurrection that word better is one of the themes all the way through the book of Hebrews remember we've seen this over and over again

Jesus is better than the angels Jesus is better than Aaron better than Moses better than Joshua better than Melchizedek he offers us a better rest than the

Old Testament rest he has given a better ministry he is a better priest who offers better sacrifices shedding a better blood so that we might have a better hope and receive a better covenant he gives us better intercessions built upon better promises all of the theme of Hebrews is better well now we have a better resurrection this resurrection is better because it fulfills something that is prior all the other things that I mentioned here in Hebrews chapter 11 that are contrasted with something we have that is better all of those things are fulfilled or heightened in Hebrews so all these things that we had prior that we now have a better than this thing that is better than fulfills and completes that which came prior which was a symbol or a shadow pointing forward to the thing that is now better so the better resurrection that we have is actually the ultimate fulfillment this better resurrection is the ultimate fulfillment of all the other resurrections that came prior to it what were the other resurrections that came prior to it the one by Elijah the one by Elisha those by Jesus the one by Paul and the one by Peter all of those literal physical life giving resurrections simply looked forward to and anticipated the great resurrection which is to come which is why

Jesus at the tomb of Lazarus says I am the resurrection and the life he who believes in me will never die and he who lives and believes in me will live forever do you believe this he claimed to be the resurrection and the life the one who ultimately according to John chapter 5 will speak and all of the dead will come out of their tombs he will simply say the word and he will raise all men some to life everlasting and some to eternal condemnation as Daniel chapter 12 promised but that by the word of Christ he will do this and he proves the fact that he is able to do this by simply saying

Lazarus come forth he calls forth one see every resurrection that is done in scripture points forward to something else what is the something else it's the better resurrection that is to come so every time we read of a resurrection in the

Old Testament we should be thinking in our minds this is just a preview this is a trailer of what is to come something better that we can expect something that is heightened something that fulfills all those other shadows that anticipate the great and final resurrection that is the better one the better resurrection will be different in duration because those who are raised in the better resurrection will never die those who were raised prior to this they die again

Lazarus died again the Shunammite woman's son died again all of those who have been raised up to this point except for Christ have died again but Christ is the first fruits of the first resurrection and so He is not subject to death any longer the next resurrection will be different in glory it will be a heavenly resurrection into a heavenly body instead of an earthly body that better resurrection will be different in quality we'll be raised into a new creation and not back into this sinful world previous resurrections were resurrections to life reinstatements to life that simply put them back into this world as it is the resurrection that is to come will put us into an eternal world this is our hope if there is no resurrection you and I are of all men and women most to be pitied that's what

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15 because it is in these bodies and in this life that we sacrifice in this world we suffer death and torture and trials and tribulations and persecutions we are faced with imprisonment and the seizure of our property we are mocked and hated and slandered and ridiculed and reproached in our bodies we suffer in this life disease and injury and infirmity and ultimately death and the hope of the believer is that in the life that is to come these bodies that have suffered will be glorified these bodies that have endured trials by faith will enjoy the glories of the world that is to come and these bodies which live now with infirmity will enjoy everlasting and eternal power and the body that dies in this life will rise again in the next and so this is not what we're talking about in a better resurrection is not a mere resuscitation to life in this world it is something far beyond that it is the literal bodily physical eternal resurrection and this is the hope of the saint

I am at a point now in my life having turned 50 got caught right there having turned 50 that I am well aware that I am below the half tank marker in the vehicle

I've got less than a half a tank left to run on I know that there's more road in the rear view mirror than there is through the front window of the vehicle now some of you would say but it's possible that you could live to be 100 trust me when

I say as the one driving this vehicle I have less than a half a tank left in this I know some of you are looking at me and you're thinking yeah

I would wish to be your age and have at least almost a half a tank left because long ago the little light came on and I heard the ding inside the cabin and we're down on zero

I'm running on reserve I'm not sure how many maybe I've driven this analogy far too far already but as one who now knows that I am less than half of a tank left some of you are on the reserve tank listen our hope our confidence what we are assured of being confident of what we have never seen is that we will be raised in physical bodies with a full tank that will never be exhausted it will never leave full and we will enjoy that for all of eternity that is

God's promise to his people that is the better resurrection those who endure the tribulations of faith do so and must do so with their eyes their hearts and their affections fixed on the world that is to come on the kingdom that is to come if you wake up in the morning and you are sore and you are achy and your joints are not quite working and you have to hobble for the first 3 hours of your day just to loosen everything up again if that is your condition listen suffer those first 3 hours endure those first 3 hours by reminding yourself perpetually that there is coming a day in which that will never happen ever again and you will live and dwell in that body forever and you will be 10 ,000 years old in that body and there will never be a creak or an ache or a pain or a sickness an illness or an infirmity that will afflict that body like all of those things afflict the body that you now have but you and I have to fix our minds and our hopes and our affections upon the kingdom that is to come the resurrection body that we are promised and the glory of that next and new creation looking to our savior who himself was raised to newness of life himself was raised so that death has no more dominion over him that is his promise to every last one who has placed their faith in him so the righteous look forward to the glories of the world that is to come in verse 38 we are rejected by the world that is read verse 38 men of whom the world was not worthy wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground

I want you to notice from the immediate context that the author is describing those who are stoned and sawn in two and put to death with the sword who wander about in poverty being destitute and afflicted and ill treated they are wanderers they have none of these world's glories none of these world's treasures and instead they suffer all of the trials and tribulations that are listed in verses 35 -38 he is not describing when he says that these are men and we can say as well women of whom the world is not worthy he is not describing celebrities or kings or princes or entertainers or captains of industry or tiktok influencers he is not describing any of those people the world looks at those people and says the world is not worthy of these people we just don't deserve

Beyonce we don't deserve Cher we don't deserve Oprah we don't deserve

Bono we don't deserve anybody else with one name instead these people are so far above us they are so glorious they are so great we are just not even deserving of these people and so all the adoration and worship is given to these people that's how the world views those you know how they view those who belong to Yahweh as worthy of being stoned sawn into put to death by the sword worthy of being excluded from all that this world offers there are two assessments in verse 38 that I want you to notice

I want you to notice God's assessment of these people which is stated very plainly these are men of whom the world is not worthy that's

God's that's God's assessment of them these people heroes of faith this is God's assessment of his people the world is not worthy of them but before we look at that I want you to look at the flip side of this there is another assessment here and it is the world's assessment of God's people that is that those who belong to Yahweh are not worthy of being included in this world that's why they are sawn into and stoned and put to death by the sword and driven out into foxholes and caves and holes in the grounds wandering about ill afflicted ill treated and afflicted and being destitute in this world because the world views the people of God as not fit to be with them in this world so the world and the world system looks at the people that belong to Yahweh the people of faith and says they don't deserve to be among us culturally you don't deserve to be here this is how the world thinks culturally you don't deserve to be here you don't fit in with our culture our culture is going this direction our culture has these affections and values and you don't belong to that you're different so you don't belong to be part of you don't deserve to be part of our culture and not only that but morally you don't fit with us morally we're progressing we're getting past all of the archaic and old and bygone moral values and our world is moving forward with a different set of morality a different idea of what is right and wrong where we're the captain of our own souls and the captains of our own fate that's our morality our morality is that truth is whatever we want it to be and we can live our own truth and do our own thing and be accountable to no one and you

Christians you don't fit in with us morally and you don't fit in with us intellectually you see a bunch of unscientific rubes that believe that God created everything in six literal 24 hour days that the world is perfect and then fell into sin that there was a worldwide flood that there's a people of God whom he cherishes and knows and loves that he set his affections on them those are all just unscientific antiquated notions of a bygone era and a bygone world morally culturally and intellectually you do not belong with us they're right by the way and so they say we should be driven out of this world we should be driven into caves and holes we should be made destitute of basic necessities they will want to seize your property because they don't think that you are worthy to have what belongs to them they will take your kids from you because they don't believe that you are worthy to raise your own kids in the truth they will talk about imprisonment and they would be willing to kill you just so that their progress can go forward that's how the world thinks this is the world's assessment of the people of God you don't belong here you don't deserve to be among us and such is the pride of the world the world thinks so highly of itself as possessing all that is desirable and good everything of value everything that is precious and then they set up over themselves gatekeepers who according to their own evaluation of everything and particularly of you and what you believe those gatekeepers will tell you whether you are worthy of being included into their circles whether you are worthy of being included and enjoying all of the things that this world promises and provides that is the pride of this world and you and I we must reject that entire assessment and we turn our back on it knowing that the world and all of its lust is passing away but that the one who does the will of God abides forever that's our assessment of the world it's all passing away the world's assessment is that we are not worthy to enjoy a place with them and we don't deserve to be included in this great world with all that it has to offer all of its glories all of its comforts all of its conveniences all of its reputation and pomp and circumstance you and I don't deserve to be included in that and so we should be excluded from that driven out ostracized and even if necessary dispatched from it so that the world can rid itself of us this is the unbeliever's assessment of himself is that he is worthy of this world and he's right because he is fit for this world this world is passing away this world is under a curse this world is under the wrath of God this world is ripe for judgment and so is the unbeliever unless he will repent of his sin and believe savingly on Jesus Christ for salvation he will join this world in its doom and in its destruction because this world is their home and they are fit for it and they share its destiny the world says this the world those in the world say this is our home this is where we belong this is where we are comfortable this is ours you don't have a part in it and they are absolutely right and God's assessment is that this world is not worthy of his people notice that these are polar opposite assessments the world says you people are not worthy of us

God says you people are not worthy of my people and God is the source of all honor and his opinion is the only one that matters this word worth or worthy in verse 38 is a word that describes something that is suitable deserving of comparison of equal value of comparable value it's the same word that Paul uses in Romans chapter 8 when he says that the sufferings of this present world are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us as the children of God you take the glory that is to come and the sufferings of this present age and these do not even deserve to be compared together with one another it's like having a brick of gold and a handful of cotton balls these things do not deserve comparison the sufferings of this world do not deserve to be even compared or mentioned in the same sentence with the glory that is to be revealed to us they're of such incomparable value and of incomparable nature that you cannot even put them on the scales one with another that's the idea behind this word worthy and by world he's not describing individual persons in the world as if the unbeliever is not in the image of God and not worthy of respect or dignity or anything like that he's not describing individual people as being less valuable than his people in terms of their inherent ontological worth that's not what he's describing by world he's not describing the plants and the trees and the dirt and the water and the minerals and all of the elements he's not describing that though the word cosmos could be used to describe that by world the author means the entire world system the doings the spirit of the age the world's current governance under Satan the standards the society the culture the commerce the morals the values the affections everything that makes up the world system everything that makes up their values and their standards all of that is not worthy of his people that darkness in which they dwell their sinful condition it is not worthy of his people the entire system as it currently is in this age the order as it exists is not worthy of the people of God just as the world did not deserve

Christ when he came into it the one who was perfect came into a world that was imperfect he who was holy came into a world that was sinful the one who was light incarnate stepped into a world that loved darkness and this world and those who did not receive him they were not worthy of such a of a noble individual in their presence and so they rejected him and they hated him and they crucified him and what an encouragement this is to the people of God that you and I can realize that difficulties and trials in this world does not mean that we have been abandoned by God it does not mean that he has taken his hand of grace off of it it does not mean that he has turned his back on us it does not mean that we lack faith instead instead the trials and tribulations of this life simply remind us of the glory and grace and goodness of the life that is to come and so that's how we have to evaluate all of the difficulties that we face in this world now what is it that makes us more valuable than all of that world or to put it another way what is it about us that makes the world unworthy of us is it because we are smarter than everybody else better looking more spiritual is it because of anything in us whatsoever it's not you know what makes the world unworthy of us it's not anything we have done it's not anything that we are ontologically speaking it is not anything that we would have done on our own it is not any merit in ourselves whatsoever what makes the world unworthy of us is what

Christ has done on our behalf because we have been chosen by the

Father in Christ from eternity past and we have had all of our sins laid upon the substitute and all of his righteousness credited to us and then we have been adopted into his family and we have been redeemed and all of our sins forgiven and we have been given the gift of the

Holy Spirit who dwells in us as a seal and promise of the glory that is to come and the inheritance that we will someday enjoy and because we name his name and because we have been saved by him and because we belong to him you and I are entirely out of place in this world this is exactly what

Jesus said in John chapter 15 when he said the world hates you but the world hates you because you do not belong to it if you belong to the world the world would love you but the world hates you because I chose you

I chose you out of the world and for this reason the world hates you the world hates you not because you are not as good as Beyonce or Cher or Bono or any of the one name people the world hates you not for that reason the world hates you because he chose you out of the world that makes you singularly different than everyone else who has not been chosen out of the world it sets you apart notice that though God God's assessment of his people and the world's assessment of his people are radically different they are polar opposites that there is something upon which

God and the world composed of unbelievers there is something upon which they agree and namely that God's people can never find rest in this world we don't belong here see the world agrees with that and God agrees with that it's two entirely different assessments the world says you don't deserve to be among us and God says no you don't deserve to have them among you but where both of them agree where the assessments overlap is in this conclusion that this is not our home we're not fit for this we're fit for the world that is to come both

God and the world say that we don't belong here this world is not worthy of us not because of what we are but because of what

Christ has done on behalf of those who are his so we are looking forward to then an abode where we obtain a better resurrection we will be raised to everlasting life in everlasting bodies fit for an everlasting creation this world is not fit for that this world cannot handle it is not appropriate for the glory that is to be revealed to the sons of God we will be made fit for a cosmos in which there is no death no disease no suffering no infirmity no sin no unrighteousness the better resurrection of our bodies is necessary for us to live in that world you see his reference to a better resurrection and this world not being worthy of us implies and here is the connection between these two phrases that once you see it you can't unsee it it implies or basically connects these two into this our better resurrection fits us not for this world but for a new world a world that is to come this world is not worthy of us that is true again not because we are special it is true because of what

Christ has done it is true because of what is future for us this world cannot contain that it cannot adapt to that it cannot be part of that in an eternal sense our eternal state our eternal glory our eternal resurrection requires it necessitates it must have an entirely different world order a new creation a new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells so if we are fit and anticipating a better resurrection it can only be that we might inhabit and go into a better creation a world that is worthy of us here is the irony we are not going to be worthy of that world so in time we spend time here in this life in a world not worthy of us and one day all of this is going to be wrapped up like a scroll all of it is going to be consumed with fire he is going to create a new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells and you and I in eternity will step into a world that we are not worthy of in the truest sense let's pray father we are so grateful for the grace that you've given to us in your son for the mercy that is ours because of what he has done we live and dwell in this life and firm as we are looking forward to and anticipating that great day when we will stand before you face to face we long for the kingdom we long for the glory of resurrected bodies and all that you have promised to us and we know that it is to come we have set our hope and our confidence and our faith in you upon that we believe those promises and we know them to be true and so it is our prayer that you would use these things to encourage our hearts in you and in your truth and that you would use these truths to fix our hope and our minds and our hearts our affections upon the glory that is to come help us to see that to see and understand and believe that the sufferings of this world all the tribulations that accrue to the faithful that they are not fit to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed in us that the light and momentary afflictions of this world are working for us a glory that is beyond all comparison we praise you and we love you and we long for that day when we will worship and sing our praise face to face and behold you in glory as you are and see you and be made just like your son in whose name we pray please stand and let's sing near the cross

Jesus keep me near the cross there a precious fountain free to all a healing stream flows from Calvary's mountain in the cross in the cross be my glory ever till my ransomed soul shall find rest beyond the river across I'll watch and wait hoping trusting ever till I reach the golden strand just beyond the river in the cross in the cross be my glory ever till my ransomed soul shall find rest beyond the river in the cross in the cross be my glory ever till my ransomed soul shall find rest beyond the river

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace and believing so that you will abound in hope by the power of the