(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

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Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] Can you tell me when it's 20, 10 more seconds? Can you tell me when it's 20, 10 more seconds? Can you tell me when it's 20, 10 more seconds? Can you tell me when it's 20, 10 more seconds? Can you tell me when it's 20, 10 more seconds? Can you tell me when it's 20, 10 more seconds? Can you tell me when it's 20, 10 more seconds? Can you tell me when it's 20, 10 more seconds? Can you tell me when it's 20, 10 more seconds? Can you tell me when it's 20, 10 more seconds? Can you tell me when it's 20, 10 more seconds? Can you tell me when it's 20, 10 more seconds? Can you tell me when it's 20, 10 more seconds? Can you tell me when it's 20, 10 more seconds? Can you tell me when it's 20, 10 more seconds? Can you tell me when it's 20, 10 more seconds? piano plays softly piano plays softly Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Amen. All right. Well, let's go and take our bulletins this morning. We'll look at some announcements real quickly. And if you do not have a bulletin, raise your hand and one of our ushers can get one for you. If you need a bulletin this morning, just put your hand up and we'll get one for you. The verse this week, second Corinthians one 14 as also you have acknowledged us in part one, you're rejoicing even as ye also are ours in the day of the Lord Jesus. And that's a good verse there. We like that. If you open up your bulletin, you'll see our service time Sunday morning service 10 30 a.m. And we're glad you're with us on Sunday morning on the Lord's Day, of course, for church. We do invite you to be back tonight for the evening service at 6 p.m. And of course, on Wednesday night, we're in our Wednesday night Bible study. We'll be in Job chapter 39 this week. So if you want to read ahead and be ready to study it together, that would be great. If you look at our sewing times, our main sewing times on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. And of course, soul winning is when we go out in the community, we knock doors, we invite people to church and we preach the gospel to anyone who's interested. We have additional sewing times on Thursdays and on Sundays at 2 p.m. And if you're a first time guests here, we are glad you're with us. We have a gift we'd like to give you as you walk out of the church building this morning as you go through the foyer or the secondary entrance over there. We've got a little table set up and on that table, we've got these little gift bags. Please grab one on your way out as a gift from us to you for being our guest this morning. There are several resources in this bag we'd like you to have. The one I'd like to highlight is this documentary. It's called Being Baptist. It's a documentary our church made. It's well made, very interesting. We want to give this to you as a gift. So please make sure you grab one on your way out. And if you are a guest, we'd ask that you please take a moment and fill out the communication card, which is inserted in your bulletin. And we just want to have a record attendance. We actually want to be a blessing to you, but we need your info to do that. So please take a moment to fill the card out. When we're done with the announcements, we're going to sing a song. When we're done singing, we're going to receive the offering. And as the offering plate goes by, you can drop this card in the offering plate. We, of course, are a family-integrated church. Children and infants are always welcome in the service. We don't separate children from their parents for any reason. We do have mother-baby rooms and daddy rooms available for your convenience. All of the rooms have comfortable seating. They have monitors set up so you can watch the service and listen to it. So if you have a child that's being distracting during the service or if you need some privacy, we'd encourage you to use those rooms as needed. If you need to be baptized, let us know. The baptistry is filled. The water is warm. We have everything you need to be baptized. So at the end of the service, if you'd like to be baptized or if you'd like to speak to somebody about that, when we're singing the last song after the preaching, if you step out that door, one of our staff guys will meet you there and get you situated for baptism. If you look at the announcements and upcoming events, of course, on Sunday mornings, we're going through the series called Rejoice. Tonight, we're finishing up our Undisciplined series. And next week is an ordination service for Brother Jared Pozarnsky. And, of course, we're going to be making our satellite church in Fresno independent. It'll be Holdfast Baptist Church. And I'll be preaching here on Sunday morning there on Sunday night for the ordination. If you need a ride to Fresno, you can get a ride on the church band. We're going to have the church band available. And you'll have to sign up on your communication card. There's only 15 seats, so it'll be the first 15 people. We want to try to make this available for people who actually need a ride, not just because you would like to sleep on the way there or something. So if you can help us with that. But you can sign up on here and on your communication card. Seating is limited. The church band, so the only thing is that it leaves at 1 p.m. sharp, all right? So after the morning service, you're going to have to get lunch or whatever quickly. And then at 1 p.m., it's leaving because the service there is at 5. And it's coming back that same night, all right? So if you decide you want to spend the night there, then you're going to have to Uber home or whatever. So it leaves at 1, comes back the same night. But if you'd like a ride on the church band, you can sign up through your communication card. Also, we could use some volunteers. If you're able to help us assemble some family and friend mailers, please meet in the fellowship hall on Sunday evening, August 29th. Not this Sunday, but next Sunday. And immediately after the service in the fellowship hall. And just see Brother Shaw about that. And if you'd like to volunteer, if you'd like to help, let Brother Shaw know. And that would be great. We have an announcement here for the kids on Sunday night, August 29th. So that's not this Sunday, but next Sunday night. We're going to be giving out some Herb Meyer stickers to all the kids. Any kids that are in the service that night, we've got little stickers, little sticker page for all of the kids. Also, we're going to have the Herb Meyer puppet available if you'd like to take some, if the kids want to take any pictures with the puppet or whatever. But we've got some stickers for the kids. So that'll be on Sunday, not next Sunday, but the Sunday after that. And then Family and Friend Day is coming up on Sunday, September 12th. And of course, this is our church's 11-year anniversary. There's going to be a free gift for every family in attendance and gifts for all of the kids. We have candy suckers for the kids. And we just want you to save the date and make sure you join us for Family and Friend Day. Choir practice today and orchestra at 5 p.m. They're practicing for Family and Friend Day. Upcoming cleaning crews, if you look for your name there, we appreciate your faithfulness. Homeschool group, we want you to make a note of the date there. Thursday, August 26th is incorrect. It's actually the week after that. So if you would make a note of that, and it's the Thursday after August 26th. Please don't forget to turn your cell phones off or place them on silent during the service so that they're not a distraction to anybody. If you look at the back of the bulletin, birthdays and anniversaries for the month of August. This week is Gabriel Torres' birthday on August 17th and Ms. Joyce Nathan's birthday on August 21st. Praise report, money matters, all those things are there for you to look at. I think that's it for all of the announcements. So let's go ahead and we're going to sing the chorus of the week as we prepare to receive the offering. And we're going to sing that all the earth may know. And of course this one's really short, so we'll sing it through twice. We prepare to receive the offering that all the earth may know, sing it out. That all the earth may know, that all the earth may know. With the gospel of Christ we must go, that all the earth may know. Good, sing it out one more time. That all the earth may know, that all the earth. With the gospel of Christ we must go, that all the earth may know. Good singing. We'll have the guys come up and help us with the offering at this time. And let's go ahead and bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, Lord, we do come to you this morning asking that you bless the offering. Lord, we pray that you bless the gift and the giver. Lord, we pray that you meet with us as we open up your word as we study the Bible together. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Turn your Bibles to Philippians chapter 4. Philippians chapter 4. If you do not have a Bible, raise your hand. International will bring you one. Philippians chapter 4. We will read the entire chapter. This is our custom. Philippians chapter 4. Just keep your hands up. International will bring you a Bible. Philippians chapter 4, the Bible reads, Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown. So stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved. I beseech Euodice and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord. And I entreat thee also, true yoke fellow. Behold those women which labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other of my fellow laborers, whose names are in the book of life. Rejoice in the Lord alway, and again I say, rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which patheth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things which ye have both learned and received and heard and seen in me do, the God of peace shall be with you. But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, and now at the last your care of me hath flourished again, wherein you were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in respect of want, for I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Notwithstanding ye have well done, that ye did communicate with my affliction. Now ye Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only. But even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again into my necessity, not because I desire a gift, but I desire fruit that may abound to your account. But I have all and abound. I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odor of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well pleasing to God. But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Now unto God and our Father be glory forever and ever. Amen. Salute every saint in Christ Jesus, the brethren which are with me greet you. All the saints salute you, chiefly they that are of Caesar's household. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. Father God, thank you for this day and for this opportunity to come together. Please bless, Pastor. Please bless the message. Let it bring glory to you. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen. Alright, well we're there in Philippians, chapter number 4. And of course on Sunday mornings we've been going through this series entitled Rejoice. And it's really been a verse by verse study through the book of Philippians, kind of like we do on Wednesday nights for our Wednesday night Bible study. We've been doing this on Sunday mornings through this book. And we are by ourselves in chapter number 4, which is the last chapter of this book. But we're actually going to go back into chapter 3 and finish up a few of the verses in chapter 3. And that will lead us into chapter 4 for this morning if you would go back to chapter 3. And of course as I've been telling you as we've been going through this series every week, I've told you that this book is about joy. That's why the series is called Rejoice. The word joy is found six different times in these four chapters. The word rejoice appears ten different times in these four chapters. And the Apostle Paul is teaching us about joy. He's teaching us about Jesus. He's teaching us about the fact that joy can be found in Jesus. We've been going through these lessons and looking at these things. And I want you to notice where we left off last time, Paul was exhorting us and encouraging us to be followers together of me. If you notice there in Philippians 3.17, of course, of the Apostle Paul, he says, Brethren, be followers together of me and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensemble. Then in verses 18 and 19 he gives us an admonition or a warning about the enemies of the cross of Christ. And we spent both Sunday morning and Sunday night last week looking at verses 18 and 19. And something that I did not point out to you that I want you to notice now is you'll notice that verses 18 and 19 are actually a parenthetical statement. You'll notice at the beginning of verse 18 you have a parenthesis. At the end of verse 19 you have a parenthesis. What that means is that the Apostle Paul inserted this thought. A parenthetical statement is something that is inserted in there, something he wants us to have information about, but not something that is needed for the subject of the sentence or for the completion of the sentence. He says this parenthetically, For many walk of whom I have told you often, and I'll tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and who glory in their shame, who mind earthly things. Now I want you to notice in verse 17 he said, Be followers together of me, and mark them which so walk, so as ye have us for an ensemble. He says you should mark the good guys. Then he says parenthetically, he says, By the way, here's why you should mark the good guys, because there are many, he says, for many walk of whom I have told you often, and I'll tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ. He gives us the characteristics, their end is destruction, their God is their belly, their glory is in their shame, they mind earthly things. Then in verse 20 he goes back to the subject, he says, For our conversation is in heaven from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. That word conversation means behavior or conduct, the way you live your life. Now he says in verse 17, Be followers together of me, and mark them which walk, so as ye have us for an ensemble. Why Paul, why do you want us to follow those who are following Christ? He says because for our conversation is in heaven. He says our behavior, our conduct is in heaven from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Here's what he's saying, he's saying we should live our lives. The word conversation is referring to the conduct or behavior of your life, your lifestyle. We should live our lives as though we are going to heaven. Isn't that a thought for a Christian? You ought to live your life, you say why should I follow Christ? Why should I follow spiritual leadership? Why should I follow those who are following Christ? Why should I become a follower of Jesus Christ? He says here's why, because you should live on earth as though you're going to live in heaven one day, because here's a novel idea, you're going to heaven. You're on your way to heaven. The Christian life is a pilgrimage. We are pilgrims on this earth on our way to a better country, a different country. So Paul says hey, we should live our lives as though we are going to heaven. Why Paul? Because we are going to heaven. And he says look, this is something to rejoice about. This is something to find joy in, the fact that our life is not complete on this earth. This life is not all that life is about. There is more to life than this life. He says for our conversation is in heaven. From once also we look for our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Now what the apostle Paul does, he sets up this idea of heaven and the fact that we are on our way to heaven, the fact that our end game, our end goal is in heaven. Then he begins to talk to us about the things of heaven. And what he does is he gives us two kind of subject lines or two categories. He talks to us about things that we will receive in heaven. And then he talks to us of how we can earn rewards in heaven. I want you to notice there in verse 21 he says this. And notice that his mind goes to that which is above, that which is in heaven, that which we will receive. And if you're taking notes this morning, and I'd encourage you to take notes on the back of the course of the week. There's a place for you to write down some things. I want you to notice he talks to us about two things that we will receive in heaven. What are we going to get in heaven? The first thing he mentions is glorified bodies. Look at verse 21. He says, who shall change our vile body that it may be fashioned like unto his? Now the word his there is referring to Jesus. He says that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body. He says when we get to heaven, he says look, you ought to live your life as though you are going to heaven. You say why would I do that Paul? Because if you're saved, you're on your way to heaven. And that's great. Praise the Lord. And he says there's some things for us to look forward to in heaven. There's some things that we're going to receive in heaven. He says Paul, what are we going to get in heaven? Well he says well, he's going to change our vile body that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body. One thing we're going to receive in heaven is glorified bodies. He replays there in Philippians. That's our text for this morning of course. But go with me if you would to the book of 1 John. In the New Testament there, towards the end of the New Testament, you have the book of Revelation. If you go backwards, you have Jude. Then you've got 1 John. 1 John chapter 3. One thing we have to look forward to in heaven is a new body. Our vile body is going to be fashioned like unto his glorious body. And one thing that the Bible tells us or emphasizes about this glorified body that we're going to get in heaven is that it will be like him. It will be like his. It will be like his glorious body. We are going to be like Christ. 1 John chapter 3. Are you there? Look at verse 2. Notice what he says. Beloved, now are we the sons of God. If you're saved, that applies to you. He says, and it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he, that's Jesus, shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Here John is saying, it does not yet appear. I'm not 100% sure how it's all going to work. But here's what I do know. When Jesus appears, we shall be like him. And of course that's a reference to the rapture. The fact that Jesus is coming again. And when we see him, when he calls us, when we appear, we shall be like him. See, the apostle Paul is trying to teach us about how to rejoice, how to have joy, how to make it through this life not depressed, not discouraged. And he says, hey, here's something for you to be encouraged about. You're not going to have to live in that body for all of eternity. He says that body you have, it's falling apart. It's getting older. It gets sick. It gets tired. It gets worn out. It's a sinful body. And it even dies. But he says one day, he's going to change our vile body. And it may be fastened like unto his glorious body. One day, you're going to get an upgrade. One day, you're going to get a new body. Now, what I want to do this morning for a few minutes is talk about this glorified body. Because it's not something we talk a lot about. And the Bible doesn't tell us a lot about the glorified bodies. But there's some things that we can gather from the Word of God in regards to our coming glorified bodies. Go with me if you would to the book of John in the New Testament. You have Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. And here's what we know. Philippians 3 21 says that our vile bodies are going to be fastened like unto his glorious body. So the Bible clearly tells us that our glorified bodies are going to be like the glorified body of Christ. 1 John tells us the same thing. When he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Now, Jesus lived on this earth in a body, a human body, of course. And that body was put to death. When he resurrected from the grave, he resurrected in a glorified body. He resurrected in a different body, the same body, but it was glorified. And there's some things that the Bible tells us about the body that Jesus walked in on this earth after his resurrection. Just some things the Bible highlights for us that I think are interesting. And when we see it in his body, we can assume that our glorified bodies will be like his body. See, the glorified body is going to be a powerful body. It's going to be a glorious body. And there are some things, and I just want to share this with you. You know, I don't know how you'll take this and maybe it seems a little odd to you or a little sci-fi, I don't know. I can tell you this. The Bible is true. Satan always tries to take the things from the Word of God and changes them. And I would just encourage you, you know, forget about all the Hollywood garbage and just read the Bible. It's far more interesting. John chapter 20, let me just show you a few characteristics about this glorified body. Maybe some things you know, maybe some things you don't know. What are these glorified bodies going to be like? John chapter 20. First of all, the glorified bodies are going to be, are going to have, the Bible seems to indicate, that they're going to have the ability to walk through walls. They're going to have the ability to walk through solid objects. John chapter 20, you're there? Look at verse 19. And remember, we're looking at the references of Jesus after his resurrection. After he resurrected from the grave in his glorified body. John chapter 20 verse 19. Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week. Now I want you to notice the emphasis that the Bible tells us. Nothing in the Bible is incidental, accidental, or coincidental. If it's mentioned in the Word of God, it's mentioned for a reason. And here we're told that the same day at evening, being the first day of the week. Notice what the Bible emphasizes. When the doors were shut. And make sure to tell us that. The doors were shut. The doors were closed. Where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews. Here you have the disciples gathering together on the first day of the week. That's Sunday. In the evening, that's what we call our Sunday night service. They're gathered together with the doors being shut. And of course they're shutting the doors and they're in fear of the Jews. The Jews just crucified Jesus. Then the Bible says this. Came Jesus and stood in the midst and saith unto them, peace be unto you. Here's what the Bible says. We were in a room, the doors were shut, and then all of a sudden Jesus just stood in the midst of us. Just appeared in the midst of us. And what the Bible seems to indicate here is that he just appeared. Look at verse 26, same chapter. John chapter 20 verse 26. This is eight days later. Notice verse 26. And after eight days, again his disciples were within and Thomas with them. Then came Jesus. Notice again the emphasis. The doors being shut and stood in the midst and said, peace be unto you. We see here that Jesus seems to have this ability to just, you know, the doors are shut but he just makes his way in anyway. He appears in the midst of them. Go to the book of Luke, if you would, Luke chapter 24. Now you say, well why is this important? It's interesting because what the Bible teaches, and I'm not going to get into all the details about end times, but the Bible teaches that there's a time coming on this earth called the millennial reign of Christ. And you and I as believers are going to rule and reign with Christ on this earth. On this material earth that you and I live on today. We're going to live on it and we're going to rule over human beings. People just like us right now. But yet we will be in our glorified bodies. We will be in these bodies. We'll be ruling and reigning with Christ in these powerful bodies. These different bodies that we will be inhabiting. You say, well what are these bodies going to do? Well, apparently they're going to be able to walk through walls. Doors will be shut and we'll just stand in the midst. That's what Jesus did. Why don't you notice, not only do these bodies have the ability to walk through walls, but these bodies have the ability to appear and disappear. Look at Luke 24 and verse 30. And it came to pass as he, now I'm not developing all of this for you, but Jesus has been walking with these disciples and he's been talking to them after his resurrection. The Bible says, and it came to pass as he, again this is Jesus and his glorified body, sat at meat with them. He took bread and blessed it and break and gave to them and their eyes were opened. Because at this point they had not recognized that they were with Jesus, the resurrected Christ. Their eyes were opened and they knew him. They recognized him at this point, notice, and he vanished out of their sight. I mean he's sitting right there. They've been walking with him this whole time. They sit down to eat. He's sitting right there. He's talking with them and as soon as they became aware of who he was, the Bible says that he vanished out of their sight. And of course, we saw Jesus and if you study the life of Jesus before the resurrection, we have a lot of stories of Jesus. In fact, the vast majority of the New Testament of the Gospels, I should say, deals with the life of Christ from his birth to his death. And we never see him just walking through doors. The emphasis here is that he has a different body, a powerful body, a glorified body. And then Paul says that our vile bodies will be fashioned like unto his glorious body. So we see that his body walks through walls. We see that it appears and disappears. He vanished out of their sight. Go there in Luke 24. Look at verse 51. Luke 24 and verse 51. And it came to pass while he, this is Jesus, blessed them. Notice, he was parted from them and carried up into heaven. Apparently, these bodies have the ability to defy gravity. Or you and I might call that in our age the ability to fly. Here Jesus is speaking with them and then he's carried up into heaven. And by the way, this is not the only time the Bible uses this type of terminology or these types of ideas. Go to Matthew 28. Matthew 28. Now here's what's interesting. People look at the Bible and say, this is just a bunch of stories and a bunch of fantasies. Here we're talking about Jesus. Jesus is vanishing, appearing and disappearing, walking through walls. He's flying. This sounds like superhero stuff. But here's the thing. The devil has taken all this superhero stuff to mock at the word of God. Because the Bible actually talks about the fact that Jesus has this glorified body. Let me tell you something. The most epic superhero ever is the Lord Jesus Christ. Matthew 28. Look at verse 1. Now in Matthew 28, we're looking at angels here, not Jesus. I want to be clear about that. But I will say this, that if you study the bodies of angels, or when angels appear throughout the Bible, it's very similar. We're talking about their glorified bodies, their celestial bodies. It's very similar to the descriptions that we get of Jesus himself. Matthew 28, verse 1. Notice what it says. In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulcher. And behold, there was a great earthquake, and the angels of the Lord, notice, descended from heaven. And came and rolled back the stone from the door that sat upon it. So we see that these bodies have the ability to fly, or to defy gravity, to be carried up into heaven, or to descend from heaven. Keep your finger right there in Matthew 28. We're going to come right back to it. Go to Revelation, if you would. Revelation chapter 14. In the New Testament, towards the end of the last book, of course, Revelation 14, look at verse 6. I just want you to notice the first little phrase of Revelation 14, 6. Revelation 14 and verse 6 says this, And I saw, Revelation 14, 6, and I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven. So notice the Bible says that these angels are flying in the midst of heaven. The Bible says that they are descending from heaven. That they are, that Jesus was carried up into heaven. So we see that these bodies have the ability to walk through these walls. They have the ability to appear and disappear. They have the ability to fly. I want you to notice, also, if you go back to Matthew 28 and look at verse 2 again, they also have supernatural strength. Matthew 28, look at verse 2. Matthew 28, 2, the Bible says this, And behold, there was a great earthquake, for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven. We saw that, notice, and came and rolled back the stone from the door and sat upon it. So we see that this angel shows up and he rolls back this stone that is placed upon the tomb of Christ. Now here's what's interesting about the stone. Go to Mark, just real quickly, Mark chapter 16. You're there in Matthew, just flip over to Mark. Mark chapter 16, look at verse 4. Mark 16, 4. Mark 16, 4. And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away. Now notice how the stone is described. For it, the stone was very great. This is a very great stone. It's a very big stone. It's a very heavy stone. And these angels, not only do they descend from heaven, but they also roll back the stone. Go to Psalms if you would. And I realize that we're going to a lot of passages and we're just having a little Bible study right now. Psalm 103. If you would, if you open up your Bible just right in the center, you'll more than likely fall in the book of Psalms. Psalm 103, look at verse 20. Psalm 103, verse 20. Psalm 103, verse 20 says this, Bless the Lord, notice ye his angels, notice these words, ye his angels that excel in strength. The Bible tells us that these angels have, they excel in strength. They have more strength than is natural or normal. It's supernatural. But the Bible tells us that our bodies one day are going to be the same. They're going to be the same type of glorified body. So look, I want you to understand, you're going to be given an eternal body. You're going to be given this glorified body and it's not going to be like the body you have right now. See, your body now has limits to it. Your body is limited by that which is material. It's limited by gravity. It's limited in its strength. It's limited in its mobility. You can only walk so fast or run so fast or travel so fast. You can't just appear and disappear. You can't just, there's only so high you can jump. There's only so far you can go. But yet these bodies are going to be powerful bodies. They're going to be glorified bodies a mile away. Not only do we get all these perks of all the power that comes with these bodies, but these bodies will never die. These bodies will never be in pain. These bodies will never hurt. These bodies will be without sin. These are things that the Apostle Paul is saying, hey, you ought to glory in the fact that one day you're going to receive a glorified body. So anyway, I just thought that was interesting and that you might want to know that about these glorified bodies, some of the things we see the Lord Jesus Christ and angels doing. Go back to Philippians chapter 4. Let me show you a second thing that we'll receive in heaven. Not only are we going to receive glorified bodies, now that right there makes heaven worth it. A body that doesn't have pain. A body that doesn't get sick. A body that doesn't die. God says you will get a glorified body, but then he also refers to the fact, I want you to look at Philippians chapter 4, look at verse 1. Therefore, a word therefore means for that reason, My brethren, dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown. I want you to notice that word crown. So stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved. You see, in heaven not only will our vile bodies be changed into his glorious, be fashioned like unto his glorious body, but in heaven we're also going to receive crowns. The Bible says that we are going to receive these crowns. Now again, go with me if you would to 1 Corinthians chapter 9. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians, 1 Corinthians chapter 9. Do me a favor when you get to 1 Corinthians, put a ribbon or a bookmark or something there because we're going to leave it and we're going to come back to it. See, the body has to do with your inheritance. It's part of salvation. When you got saved, your spirit was quickened, but your body one day will also be redeemed. Your body is going to be redeemed as part of the salvation process. You're already saved, you're completely saved, but we are waiting on the redemption of our bodies when Jesus returns. But then not only do we get redemption, which is our bodies, we also get rewards. The Bible says that God is going to reward us in heaven and part of it has to do with these crowns. Because remember, in the millennial reign we're going to rule and reign with Christ. And the crown is a representation of being able to rule and to reign. We will rule and reign as a result of receiving these crowns. We'll receive authority as we earn these crowns. 1 Corinthians 9, look at verse 24. Notice what the Apostle Paul said about these crowns, about the fact that we can earn crowns. 1 Corinthians 9 and 24. Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize, the reward. So run that ye may obtain. He says run to win. Here's what he's saying. He's saying live your life in such a way to win the game that God has you in, the race that God has you in. Look at verse 25. And every man that striveth for the mastery, the word striveth there means to make great effort, to put great effort for the mastery. The word mastery is referring to being the winner, the one that wins. Notice, is temperate. The word temperate means self-restrained or self-controlled. He says and every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Remember Philippians 3.20? Let your conduct, your behavior, your conversation. He says in all things is a reference to our lifestyle. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown. He's using the illustration of like an athlete, an Olympian. He's saying an Olympian, they strive for the mastery. There's temperate in all things. They're self-controlled when they get up, how they eat, when they exercise, all those things, how much sleep they get. He says now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible. See, he says look, in heaven you can earn a crown. Several years ago I preached a series on the crowns and I'm not going to rehash all of that this morning, but let me just quickly give you the four crowns of the Bible list. I don't know that these are all the crowns, but these are the four that the Bible lists that you can earn in heaven. The first crown is what's referred to as the crown of life. This is for enduring temptation. The Bible says blessed is a man that endured temptation, for when he is tried he shall receive a crown of life. The second is a crown of righteousness. This is for finishing faithfully. The apostle Paul said I have finished my course. I have kept the faith. He said therefore there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness. The third crown is a crown that we're going to look at here in Philippians and it is referred to as the crown of rejoicing. This is for soul winning, for evangelism, for reaching people with the gospel. And then the fourth crown is called the crown of glory. This is a crown given to preachers or to those who teach and handle the word of God for faithfully teaching the word of God. These are crowns that you can earn. These are crowns that you can earn in heaven. You say, well, why would I want a crown? Well, here's the thing. Do you want to rule and reign with Christ? Now look, people get this idea, you know, these ultra spiritual, I don't need any rewards, whatever. Shut up. I don't need any rewards. You know, there's the same people that complain that we put a plaque out there because you read ninth chapters of the day. Hey, you know what's funny? People that complain about the ninth chapters of the day plaque, you know, they still don't read the ninth chapters of the day. You think they just read, why don't you just read the New Testament with us and then just don't put your name on the plaque then? You know, but here's the thing. God wants to motivate you. He says, hey, I want to reward you. I want to pay you for your work and in heaven I'm going to give you some crowns. He says here how you can earn the crowns. You can earn the crowns by being faithful and finishing your course. You can earn the crown by being a soul winner. You can earn the crowns by enduring temptation. You can earn the crowns by faithfully teaching the word of God. And he says, I'm going to give you this crown and you say, well, I don't need a crown. Well, then you don't get to rule and reign because those who rule and reign wear crowns. Now I don't know about you, but obviously you're going to be in heaven either way. But if I'm going to be in the millennial reign, I'd like to earn something and be up there and be able to rule and reign with the Lord Jesus Christ. You go ahead and be the janitor if you want. I want to rule and reign with Christ. I want to be able to serve Him and serve alongside Him and be with Him. So we get this opportunity to earn crowns. And he said, well, why do we earn crowns? Here's what the Bible seems to indicate. Go to the book of Revelation if you would. We earn crowns and that has to do with the ruling and reigning. Our authority and our ability to rule and reign upon this earth with Him during the millennial reign. But I would say the biggest reason that we get to earn crowns is so that we get to return crowns. Revelation chapter 4, look at verse 10. And again, this is a specific verse about the four and twenty elders, but I just want you to notice they're wearing crowns and notice what they did with their crowns. Revelation 4 and verse 10, the Bible says, The four and twenty elders fell down before Him that sat on the throne and worshiped Him that liveth forever and ever and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power. For Thou has created all things and for Thy pleasure they are and were created. The Bible seems to indicate that when you and I get to heaven, we're going to stand at the judgment seat of Christ. And at that judgment seat, we're going to be judged for the things which were done in our bodies, for our conduct, for our conversation, for our behavior, for how we lived our lives. And we're going to be able to earn some crowns. We're going to be given some crowns and maybe there's more crowns or different crowns that the Bible doesn't tell us about or that I'm not aware of, but for sure we're going to be given the opportunity to earn a crown for enduring temptation. We're going to be able to, and the crown of enduring temptation has to do with enduring trials, enduring persecution, but also not living a life of sin. The fact that temptations came our way and we resisted them and we did not partake in them. We're going to earn that crown. We can earn a crown for soul winning and winning people to Christ. We can earn a crown for ending right and finishing right, not quitting, not becoming a castle. We can earn these crowns and God's going to judge our lives and gives us these crowns. And you say, well, what are we going to do with these crowns? We're going to take the crowns and use them to say, I did it for you. We'll earn the crowns to return the crowns. So let me just, you know, help you out, Mr. Ultra Spiritual. I don't need to earn a crown. Well, this is how you're going to show your gratitude to the Lord Jesus Christ for dying on the cross for your sins. Now again, I want to rule and reign with Christ, but you know, even more than that, I don't want to stand before Christ empty handed. See, a headless crown in heaven will prove that you were saved, but you did nothing for Jesus. That you were saved, but you did not live for Jesus. You did not work for Jesus. You did not earn anything for Jesus. And what it really shows is that you really didn't care about Jesus. Now you're saved. First Corinthians says as of by fire and praise the Lord for it. Hey, it's better for you to be saved than in heaven with no rewards than being held. But you know, you can be in heaven and earn rewards. You can be in heaven and have these crowns. You say, why would I want a crown? We earn a crown to return the crown. We earn the crowns to return them. We live for God so that we can then cast them before his feet and say, thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power for thou has created all things and for thy pleasure they are and were created. So we see these things that we will receive in heaven. Glorified bodies. Aren't you thankful for that? Bodies that will never ache, they'll never hurt. There'll be no coronavirus in heaven. There'll be no cancer in heaven. There'll be no disease in heaven. We'll have these powerful bodies and then we'll also receive crowns that we earned on earth to return to Christ in a object lesson of gratitude. So then the question is, of course, how do you earn these rewards? How do you earn these things? Well, notice the Apostle Paul, he tells us in verse 1, he says, Therefore, he says, for that reason, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for my joy and crown, he said, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved. You say, how can I earn a crown? Well, first of all, you must stand fast. The way that we earn crowns, the way that we earn rewards, the way that we get rewarded in heaven is by standing fast. Stand fast. Go back to 1 Corinthians chapter 15, if you would. I'm not sure if you kept your place in 1 Corinthians. I think I asked you to keep your place there. 1 Corinthians 15. 1 Corinthians 15. You ought to stand fast, because remember, two of the crowns are earned by one enduring temptation. How do you do that? You stand fast. The second is by finishing strong. How do you do that? Finishing your course. How do you do that? You stand fast. You stand strong. The word fast means to secure. You get fixed. You say, I'm going to stay with this. I'm not going to quit. I'm not going to give up. He says, look, you want to earn some rewards in heaven? He says, stand fast. 1 Corinthians 15. Look at verse 51. I want you to notice. What I want to show you is the verse at the end of 1 Corinthians 15, but before I do that, I want to show you the context of that verse. 1 Corinthians 15, verse 51. Notice the context. Behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. The word sleep there is referring to death, the fact that we're going to physically die. The Bible will often refer to death for a believer as sleep. The Bible doesn't call, when a saved person dies, it doesn't call it death. Death is hell. The Bible calls it sleep. Our bodies are asleep. You say, why? Because one day they're going to wake up at the resurrection. The funny thing is the Jehovah's Witness teaches this teaching of soul sleep. They get it exactly opposite. They say your soul goes to sleep. The Bible doesn't say your soul goes to sleep. The Bible says your soul goes to heaven. But your body goes to sleep. We shall not all sleep. He says, look, not everyone is going to die. Some people are going to live through the rapture. He says, but we shall all be changed. That's what Philippians 3, 21 is about. He's going to change our vile bodies. We shall not all sleep, but we should all be changed. Notice 1 Corinthians 15, 51. The context is about the rapture. In a moment, in a twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible. And we shall be changed. Just like he says there in verse 51. Just like he said in Philippians 3, 21. He's going to change our vile body, and fashion like unto his glorious body. We shall be changed. The dead shall be raised incorruptible. We shall be changed. Look at verse 53. Notice the transition for this corruptible. That's what you have right now. That's what I have right now. This corruptible, this body that is decaying, this body that is dying, this body that is being destroyed, for this corruptible must put on incorruption. And this mortal must put on immortality. So then this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality. Then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory. Probably the greatest thing about our glorified bodies is that death will be done away with. Death will have been swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. Now that's the context. The rapture, your glorified body. Then he says this, verse 57. But thanks be to God which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, therefore means for this reason. For what reason? The fact that this corruptible will put on incorruption? The fact that this mortal will put on immortality? The fact that we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed? The fact that he's going to change our vile bodies into his glorious body? He says, Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord for as much as you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. Here's what he's saying. He's saying because of heavenly rewards, because you're on your way to heaven, because you're going to get a glorified body, because you're going to get rewards in heaven, we should be motivated to stand fast. Look, you say, What do I do? I want to earn some rewards. It's simple. Just don't quit. Just stick with it. Just stand fast. Just get secure. Look, in the Christian life, there comes a point, we're told, statistically, we're told people will study these things out, and they'll say that people will go to church on an average when somebody decides to kind of become, make church part of their life, they'll do it for about three years, and then they'll quit. And if they make it past the three-year mark, they'll do it for about seven years, and then they'll quit. And if they make it past the seven-year mark, then, you know, usually they'll stick with it for the rest of their life. And here's all I'm telling you. In the Christian life, you've got to decide, my success cannot be measured by weeks or months or years. It must be measured by decades. I've got to decide that I'm going to stick in this thing. I'm going to stay with this thing. I'm going to stand fast in the Lord. That's how you earn rewards. That's how you earn a crown. Paul got to the end of his life. He says, I'm ready. The time of my departure is at hand. He said, I finished. I did it. I finished my course. I kept the faith. He said, I didn't quit. I didn't give up. There was trials. There was persecution. There was battles. There was enemies. He talks about within, without, and without. He said, within were fears. He said, without, there was the enemies that were there to attack us, but I stuck with it. And here's what I'm telling you is if you want to earn rewards in heaven, you've got to make a decision. You're going to stand fast. It means you're not going to quit. It means you're going to stay with it. Let me tell you something. You know that the Christian life is sometimes exciting and sometimes not? You know that? People often think, oh, you know, all these exciting things we do, we have some big protests, and that's so exciting, or we have some big red hot preaching conference, and that's so exciting, or we have some big missions trips to the Philippines or whatever, and that's so exciting. I'll be honest with you. As a pastor, and maybe I shouldn't even say this out loud, and if I shouldn't, you know, Lord forgive me, and I apologize to you, but as a pastor, I don't even look. I dread those things. Somebody tells me, oh, there's some big protests somewhere. I think to myself, good night. Red hot preaching conference. I love the conference. You know what I dread? Here's what I dread. People get all excited about some big event. They get all excited about some big missions trip. They get all excited about some big protests, but then they don't show up to soul winning the next day. They don't show up to church the next week. They don't show up the next—you know, they go to some big missions trip across the country, across the world, on some big evangelistic campaign to reach people, but then they won't show up to give the gospel to their neighbor? Look, and I'm not against it. We're all for missions trips and red hot preaching conference, all those things, but let me tell you something. The Christian life is not a conference you do once a year. It's not an event you do once a year. It is something we do day by day, every day, week by week. Look, you say, I want to earn that crown for being a soul winner. You show up every week and be a faithful soul winner. That's how you earn the crown. You just be faithful. You stand fast. You stick with it. You stay at it. You say, well, you don't like the big events. I wouldn't mind the big events if people went to the big events, enjoyed the big events, and continued on on the not big events, but here's what I've learned. People go to the big events, and then they're so discouraged, because it's not as exciting. Who said it was supposed to be exciting? Who told you that the Christian life is supposed to be this exciting enthusiast? Sometimes it is, but you know what? Sometimes we do it because it's our duty. Sometimes we do it because we love Jesus, and we love people. And when the crowd's not big, and when the excitement's not high, and when it's just another Saturday in Sacramento with smoke in the air, we just show up. That's how you earn rewards. Listen to me. If the Red Hawk Preaching Conference all of a sudden gets you really excited about soul winning, gets you really excited about ministry, gets you, you know, you want to go in the ministry, you want to do great things for God, be weary of that. If this big conference, that big event, that, oh, Pastor Mejia's fighting these people, Pastor, and you get all excited, hey, you ought to just be excited because you want to serve God. Sometimes the battles show up, and let us be ready for them. But when they're not there, you know what? We just continue to do. You say, Pastor, what do you do when the battles show up? When the battles show up, we do the same thing we do every week. We stand fast. We stand for God. We stick with it. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. For as much as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. You say, how do we earn rewards? Well, number one, first of all, you must stand fast. Because of heavenly rewards, we should be motivated to stand fast. But I want you to notice, secondly, we go soul winning. We've been talking about it, but I want you to see it. Go back to Philippians chapter 4. Look at verse 2. Now, verse 2, I'm going to deal with that next week. But I want you to notice the context. I beseech Eudias and beseech Syntyche that they be of the same mind in the Lord. Notice verse 3. And I entreat thee also, true yoke fellow. Yoke fellow is referring to somebody that yokes up in work with him. They've taken up the yoke of the ministry. True yoke fellow helped those women which labored with me in the gospel. With Clement also and with other my fellow laborers whose names are in the book of life. Notice the apostle Paul talks about these individuals and specifically talks about these women who labored with him in the gospel. They are fellow laborers. They're true yoke fellows. You say, how do I earn rewards? Hey, here's how you earn your rewards is by being faithful, standing fast, and by going soul winning. By reaching people with the gospel. Just real quickly, go to the book of Daniel if you would. In the Old Testament, you've got the major prophets. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel. Daniel chapter 4. See, Paul says you ought to be excited about the fact that you're going to get a glorified body. And he says you ought to be excited about the fact that you're going to get some crowns. But what if your glorified body, or let me say it this way. What if the glory of your glorified body was dependent on your soul winning? You say, I want a glorified body. Okay, great. But what if your glorified body will be glorified by your energy, your emphasis, your labor in evangelism? Daniel 1.23. Notice what the Bible says. And they that be wise. And they that be wise. Now I'm going to show you how this has to do with evangelism and soul winning. But even just in that phrase, they that be wise, we can make a connection to soul winning. Because in Proverbs 11.30, the Bible says the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life and he that winneth souls is wise. So here it says, and they that be wise. But the Bible tells us he that winneth souls is wise. Now notice what he says. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament. And they that turn many. Here's soul winning. Here's evangelism. Turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever. See the Bible says that they that are wise are the ones that shall shine. And they that turn many to righteousness are going to shine as the stars forever and ever. Why? Because the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life and he that winneth souls is wise. Go to Matthew 13 real quickly. Matthew 13. See the word glory, if you study the word glory throughout the Bible, it's often connected to this idea of light. And our glorified bodies are going to be powerful bodies like we talked about. You'll be able to walk through walls and appear and disappear and fly and all those things. But one of the things that makes it, the reason it's referred to as a glorified body is because it's going to shine. And the shine has to do with the glory. Here's the thing, the brighter you are the more glory that God is bestowing upon you. Look, heaven's not going to be the United States of America no child left behind. You know, heaven's not going to be like the United States of America where everybody gets a trophy even if you lose. You get a participation trophy. In heaven, God is definitely going to exalt some and reward some and say, look, you did a lot. You're going to shine. Matthew 13.43. Notice. Matthew 13.43. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun. The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life and he that winneth souls is wise. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun and the kingdom of their father who have ears to hear, let him hear. Look, here's what I believe the Bible is teaching. I believe that God is going to somehow quantify the amount of energy that you spent, that you put into your life, into reaching others with the gospel. I didn't say you got people saved. I think sometimes we make a big deal about these numbers of salvation. Look, the Bible says that sometimes we plant, sometimes we water, sometimes we reap, but God gives the increase. If you play a part in the role of soul winning, then God's going to reward you for the labor that you've done. But somehow God is going to quantify the amount of time and energy that you spent in trying to help people be reached with the gospel of Christ and that will be the amount that your body shines in heaven. So when somebody walks into a room and they're like, whoa, I'm going to be like, man, that guy, you know, the apostle Paul is going to be like, you have to put on sunglasses to talk to him. Unfortunately, some of you are not only going to be janitors in heaven, you're going to be nightlights. You're going to get to heaven, God's going to be like, you don't have a crown, but your shine is so little that we're going to appoint you a nightlight duty. You're going to stand in a room while children sleep because that's how little your shine is. Here's what I'm telling you. Look, when I get to heaven, I want to shine. I want a crown. You're selfish. Hey, I just agree with the apostle Paul. If I'm going to be in a fight, so fight. If I'm going to run, so run that you may obtain. And here's what I'm telling you. You don't like it. And if you don't like it, you don't like God. But God is going to make it extremely clear. Those who served him and loved him and worked for him and did righteousness for him and those who didn't. Look, and he says, and they that be wise shall shine as a brightness of the firmaments, and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun. See, in heaven, your brightness, your glory of your glorified body will be connected to your faithfulness, your energy, your work, the labor you put into reaching others with the gospel. So here's a question I have for you. How are you doing at reaching people with the gospel? How faithful are you? Well, I don't know. I'll tell you who does know God. I'm not tracking it. I'll tell you who is tracking it. God. I don't know how I'm doing. I'll tell you who does know God. And in heaven, your glory will be dependent upon it. Not only should you stand fast, but you should go sowing, and you say, why? Because your glory will depend on it. But let me also say this. Your rejoicing will depend on it. Go back to Philippians chapter 4. Look at verse 1. Therefore, my brethren, dearly beloved and longed for. Why don't you notice what the apostle Paul says? He says, my joy, my joy and crown. So remember, what has Paul been talking to us this whole time? The whole book of Philippians, what's it about? Rejoice. How to rejoice. Now next week, we're going to talk about how to rejoice here on earth. But right now, he's telling us, I want you to not only rejoice here on earth, I want you to rejoice in heaven. I want you to have something to rejoice about in heaven, something to celebrate in heaven. You say, how do I do that? Well, you've got to understand that when you get to heaven, you're going to get a glorified body, you're going to get some crowns. And here's what you're going to have to also understand is that your crowns and your glorified body are dependent upon how you live for God here on earth. Let your conversation, your conduct, your behavior. But then he says this. You Philippians are my joy and crown. So stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved. Go to 1 Thessalonians chapter 2. Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians. Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians. Why don't you notice what the apostle Paul says? I think it's very interesting. He says, you're my hope, you're my joy, you're my crown. You're my crown. Let me tell you something that's something that we can celebrate about heaven. Is that in heaven we will be reunited with loved ones. Heaven is going to be a great reunion. It's going to be a great reunion for those that have gone on before us, with those that we have lost. The Bible says that as believers, though we mourn at the death of other saved believers, the Bible says that we do not mourn as those which have no hope. We have hope that we will be reunited one day, we will see them one day, we will embrace them one day, we will get to spend time with them. Now often, often when we think of heaven and reunions, we think of those that we love and I think that's great. There's nothing wrong with that. The Bible says, precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. The Bible says that we mourn as those which have no hope, that we will one day be reunited with those that have gone on before us. We will see parents and grandparents and children that have gone on even before their parents and we will see all of those loved ones. But let me tell you something, in heaven you will not only rejoice because of a reunion of those that you expect. Paul says you may actually also rejoice because of a reunion of those that you don't expect. You say, what do you mean? 1 Thessalonians 2, verse 19. For what is our hope? 1 Thessalonians 2, 19. For what is our hope? Or joy. Or crown of rejoicing. Now look, let me tell you something. When the Bible talks about crowns, I believe they're literal crowns. The four and twenty elders had crowns that they took off their heads and cast them before Christ. Cast them before the throne. The crown of glory, the crown of rejoicing, the crown of faithfulness and all those things. I believe those are literal crowns that we're going to get. But here Paul kind of makes an analogy. He says, well what exactly is our hope? Hope is a word that's often referred to with heaven. Hope is not used in the same way that you and I use it. When we use the word hope, it's more like I hope this happens. In the Bible, hope is something I'm looking forward to. It's secure. It's going to happen. That's my hope. It's called the blessed hope. For what is our hope? Or joy. Or crown of rejoicing. Paul, aren't you going to get a crown in heaven because you're a great soul winner? He says, yes, but you know what my actual crown of rejoicing is? He says, are not even ye? Talking to the church in Thessalonica, his converts are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming. Look at verse 20. For ye are our glory and joy. I don't understand. What is he talking about? Go to Psalms if you want to. Last place we'll look at this morning. Psalms. Open your Bible right in the center. Psalm 126. Paul's talking about how to rejoice. And he's teaching us how to rejoice in heaven. He says, you're rejoicing in heaven. Now we're all going to rejoice. We're all going to be happy in heaven. But your rejoicing in heaven will be dependent upon your rewards, which will be dependent upon your soul winning, which will be dependent on your faithfulness. And then he says this. He says, you, he says to the Philippians, my joy and crown. He looks at the Philippian converts, his converts. He says, you're my joy. You're my crown. He says in 1 Thessalonians 2, you're my hope, my joy, my crown of rejoicing. He says, are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ? For ye are our glory and joy. Here's a question. What if, aside from being with Christ, what if, aside from being reunited with our loved ones, what if a great reward and reason to rejoice in heaven is people walking up to you? Because remember, we're going to go through the judgment seat of Christ. That's when we get our rewards, right? Before the millennial reign. Then we'll serve through the millennial reign with your crown, ruling and reigning, or with no crown, serving as a night light. And then at the end of the millennial reign, the Bible says that there's the resurrection of the dead, when God resurrects people out of hell, and we have this great white throne judgment. The Bible says we'll all be there. The Bible says that heaven and earth are fled away. There's nowhere else to go. We will all be present. I don't know how long it'll take, but we'll have all of eternity. And the Bible says that the books will be opened, and that the dead will stand before the great white throne, and they'll be judged out of the book. They'll be judged for their works, because that's what they wanted to be judged as. And they'll be found guilty. They'll be thrown into the lake of fire. We will all witness that. We will all watch people who rejected Christ or who never had the opportunity to get saved because the soul winner didn't bring them the gospel, be cast into hell. So what if the greatest, what if one of the greatest opportunities to rejoice in heaven is somebody walking up to you and saying, you probably don't remember me, but you knocked on my door. You gave me the gospel. I got saved. I didn't go to church. I didn't read the Bible. I didn't do anything. You can tell I'm Mr. Night Light. I got no crowns, but you got me saved. I'm not in hell. Thank you. See, in heaven, we will rejoice with those that we brought with us. Paul says, yeah, I'm going to get a crown of rejoicing. I mean, good night. I'm the apostle Paul. Of course I'm going to get a crown of rejoicing, other than Jesus is the greatest soul winner that ever lived. But he said, you know what really is my hope or joy? You want to know what my real crown of rejoicing is? He says, even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming, for ye are glory and joy. Here's what I'm saying. If you get to heaven, if you get to heaven, you will have the opportunity, you will have the time, all of eternity, to find the person that got you saved. Because if you're saved, somebody got you saved. To find the person that got you saved and say thank you, thank you, thank you for giving me the gospel. I'll be able to walk up to my parents and specifically my dad, who's the one that led me through the sinner's prayer. But of course both my parents raised me in a Christian home and I'll be able to hug and praise and say thank you for getting me saved. And I'll have the opportunity to thank the person that got me saved. And you'll have the opportunity to thank the person that got you saved. But will anybody thank you? Because you gave up a Saturday. Because you gave up a Thursday. Because you decided not to be selfish. Because you decided that you were going to go, not when it's exciting, but faithfully go and reach people with the gospel of Christ. Psalm 126 verse 5, they that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth weeping, bearing precious seed. By the way, that's the word of God. Shall doubtless come again, don't miss it, with rejoicing. Why will they be rejoicing? Why will they have a crown of rejoicing? Why will they have people in the presence of our Lord Jesus and say ye are my glory, my joy, my hope, my rejoicing? Here's why. With rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. Here's what I'm saying. When I get to heaven, I want to thank Jesus for saving me. Which is why I want to earn crowns so that I can return crowns. I want to thank those who made it possible for me to be saved. But I also want to be thanked. You say, why would you want to be thanked? Because it shows that I did not live a life of selfishness. It shows that the gospel did not end with me. The Bible says if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost. And I just wonder, I'm not trying to pick on you, I'm just trying to give you a reality. Because remember, we ought to live this life as though we're going to heaven. Because we're going to heaven. You'll spend all eternity in heaven. This life is but a vapor that endureth for a little time and then vanishes with the way. And I just wonder how many people, if anybody, will walk up to you and say thank you. Thank you for serving. Thank you for standing fast. Thank you for being faithful. Thank you for soul winning. Thank you for knocking on my door and giving me the gospel when you didn't have to. Because when they do, you'll rejoice. And I'll rejoice in heaven. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, thank you Lord for your Word. Thank you for these chapters in the Bible and these ideas that the Apostle Paul gives us. Lord, I pray you'd help us to stand fast, to be faithful. Lord, help us to be faithful when it's exciting and when it's not. When there's an exciting missions trip and soul winning marathon to be excited and join and when there's not, just be faithful in our place. Help us not to be motivated by emotions but to be motivated by our love for Christ. Not by circumstances. Help us to stand fast. Help us to go soul winning. Lord, I pray that every person here would be able to rejoice in heaven having brought their sheaves with them. Help us to love people, care about people. Help us to get the right perspective that this life is not about this life. There's more to life than this life. And help us to give our lives, to love others, help others that we may rejoice not only on earth but also in heaven. In the matchless name of Christ, we pray. Amen. Now brother Matt, come up and lead us in a final song. Just want to give you a couple of reminders. First of all, don't forget tonight at 6 p.m. we have our evening service. We're finishing up our undisciplined sermon. So we encourage you to be back, or series, so we encourage you to be back tonight for that. And then don't forget, if you can help with volunteering for the Family and Friend Day mailers, that's Sunday evening, August 29th. Please see brother Shaw and let him know so we can get a list of who's able to help with that. And if you need a ride for Fresno, there's a place for you to sign up on your communication card. But you can also talk to brother Shaw about that and he can give you whatever question, or answer whatever questions that you may have. So make sure you do that. Why brother Matt, come up and lead us in a final song. Turn to song 238. Song number 238. Christ liveth in me 238. We'll sing it out on the first. Once far from God and heaven sent, no light my heart could see. But in God's word the bride I found, Christ liveth in me. Christ liveth in me. Christ liveth in me. Oh, what a salvation this, that Christ liveth in me. 238 on the second. As rays of light from outer sun rise, our world set free. So life and light and love came full from Christ liveth in me. Christ liveth in me. Christ liveth in me. Oh, what a salvation this, that Christ liveth in me. As lives are far within the sea, as in a polar tree. So praise the God of truth and grace, His Spirit dwelleth in me. Christ liveth in me. Christ liveth in me. Oh, what a salvation this, that Christ liveth in me. We'll sing it out on the last. With longing all my heart is healed, and my care my need be. As our God was said, I trust that Christ liveth in me. Christ liveth in me. Christ liveth in me. Oh, what a salvation this, that Christ liveth in me. Let's sing it before we leave here. If anybody has questions about salvation, church membership, or baptism past, she'll be at the door. We'd love to talk to you or direct you to someone who's trained to talk to you about that. I'm going to ask Brother Graham, would you close in prayer for us? Father God, thank you for this message. Please give us the strength to live for you and to do what you expect of us. Bless the rest of this afternoon and bring us back to faith for tonight. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.