Our bodies are important. God made us for His in dwelling. He’s preparing a place for us. We are each to be seen as the Holy of Holies. Let us be people who present ourselves as living sacrifices. (1 Corinthians 6:17-20)

Speaker(s): Pastor John Hadley
Sermon 12071
6:30 PM on 4/4/2021

P. Hadley –

He has risen! Wow, it’s always a blessing and honor to be before this beautiful body of believers. It was
great seeing so many new faces last night standing at the door and I think Saturday night was
the night where so many people came here for the first time. It was very sweet and just gave us
a sense of fulfilling our purpose for being here. It was great. The resurrection. I was reading one
writer said what if the angel had said to Mary, he is not here. He has ascended. Think about
that. He is not here. He has ascended. That would have been great, but not like anything like
what he said. You fill in the blank. He is not here. He has risen and go and tell the disciples that
he will meet them in Galilee. So Jesus was in his body for 40 days after the resurrection, in the
same body that he lived in even though it went into the tomb so severely and utterly – the word
that comes to mind is “mangled” through all he endured.

But it was that same body that rose from the dead. And as they say, the stone was not rolled away so that Jesus could come out. The stone was rolled away so people could go in and testify of the fact that he had risen. Jesus
was here 40 days in this body. He said to Thomas, see, it is me. Put your fingers in my prints,
nail prints and in my side. It doesn’t say that Thomas did that. Perhaps he was so amazed to
see the Lord. Then Jesus appeared to the eleven and he says – how much real can it get – you
guys got something to eat? It’s not a ghost you see. You got something to eat? And he ate
some bread I think. Fish. Fish and honeycomb I think. I think so. That’s what’s coming to
memory. Anyway, he ate and it apparently went through his digestive tract and we’re not sure of
how all that worked but it was his body. It was his body. That body was not just like any body. It
could all of a sudden appear in a room behind locked doors and it could disappear. It could walk
and talk and appear like any other person.

That body could join two very discouraged disciples on the road to Emmaus and he could appear to them and they don’t think he’s anyone special except that apparently he’s very uninformed because he appeared not to know what had
happened to himself! So then he kind of leads them on. It’s so cool. He just leads them on to
extract some information from them. And then he pretends he’s going to keep on going when
they arrive at their destination. They beg him please stay with us. So he does and he broke the
bread. He’s the guest and he’s the one breaking the bread. Then their eyes were opened and
then he disappeared. Then they didn’t care so much about the bread anymore because they
had to go back to Jerusalem. Remember what they said? Did not our hearts burn within us
when he talked to us about the Scriptures. Isn’t it true for us? Doesn’t our heart burn when he
opens up the Scriptures to us. He is the Word. He is the living Word. God puts high esteem on
Jesus’ body and he puts a very high esteem upon our bodies.

I just wanted to read 1 Corinthians 6 if you would open there. I’ll just read a couple of verses. Because these bodies too will go into the grave and they will come up again. Jesus did ascend to heaven and what is he doing? He is
undertaking a colossal building project apparently because he said, “I go to prepare a place for
you.” It seems that this is the New Jerusalem. It seems like this is a city that descends from
heaven like no other city that we have ever seen or could even imagine. Could it be that the
saints that have gone home before us are enlisted in that building project. I mean there is plenty
of work to do up there. Could it be that Danny Quirk is working on your room, apartment,
mansion right now? But I think maybe he’s in charge of the food canteen, the canteen truck!
Peggy’s got her – what were those muffins called? The what? Grace muffins. They look like
giant mushrooms. You could pull the top off and that was the best part of it.

Maybe Pastor Palmer is over the finance, however that works up there, keeping tabs on every cent. Maybe
Martin Rodriquez is an inspector. He’s inspecting the work because he was just kind of matter of
fact. He would say super bien, super bien! Good work! We don’t know how it is but he is
preparing a place for us where we will live forever, and that place will come to planet Earth. We
will be in these bodies but in the improved version. I hope we like our bodies and I hope we like
the Earth because it’s not going away. It’s going to be really glorified. It’s going to be absolutely
outstanding. He’s preparing a place. He’s interceding. He’s giving gifts to his people to do the
work while we are here in these bodies. If you would look at 1 Corinthians 6. I was going to read vs. 19
but let’s start with vs. 17. And I think in light of the fact that these bodies are going to be
resurrected, not just – what’s the other word? Resuscitated. People in the Bible were
resuscitated. Jesus was not the first person to come back from the dead.

But all those people that came back from the dead, died again. Jesus came forth from the grave resurrected and will
never die again. vs. 17. Let’s just think about that. We are one spirit with the Lord individually and together as a Body. One spirit. Not two spirits. Not forty spirits. Not 400 spirits. We are one
spirit with the Lord. Say “hallelujah” to that! Okay. Don’t get so excited! Then it says this. We are
just living in a day where it seems like Satan is just pulling the stops where he has made it so
easy to sin. It’s just like you don’t even have to try. It’s just there. Right. You know what I’m
saying? So Paul says back then, vs. 18. You know the word “flee” means run for your life.
There’s a rattlesnake. Flee. Run for your life. There is somebody who is out to get you. Flee.
Run for your life. And then he says – this is a loving message. I want it to be a loving message. I
want it to be like love. Just love! Just love! AGAPE love.

Thank you, Lord. This is what a loving Lord says because he cares for us. He’s so protective of us. He says listen you guys. You’re one spirit with me. He goes I gotta, I want to help you, us. Flee. Run for your life from sexual
immorality. Because it’s a destroyer. It’s a distractor. It will grieve the Spirit of God. It will not,
cannot help us in any way ever not one time. There’s nothing good in it. It’s false. It’s a lie. So he
says, vs. 18. That’s bad enough, right? These bodies are sacred. It says in 1 Corinthians 3:16-17.
These bodies are sacred. That’s the Body plural, the church. Are you okay out there? Are you
tracking with me. We need the love, don’t we. God pour on your love. Love releases us. Love
strengthens us. Love transforms us. Love. We need God’s love poured in. Keep yourself in the
love of God, Jude said. vs. 19. This is to help us. Okay. We are all little temples. This is like the
big temple, every church, corporate Body is like a big temple but individually we are transporters
of – we are like the ark of the covenant with Israel following behind the twelve tribes.

The priests carrying the ark of the covenant, the sons of Aaron. Now we are the privileged ones to get to
carry in our bodies the very presence of God, the Holy of Holies, the mercy seat. God spoke to
Israel from between the cheribum from on top of the mercy seat. And God speaks through us
also through his Spirit from the mercy seat. We are temples of the living God. We are precious
in his sight. To think that God would esteem us that high that he would put his Spirit
permanently in these frail, weak bodies. Think of how highly he must have esteem us. The value
that he puts upon us and the trust that he has, not in us, but in himself working in us and
through us because that which he has started he will complete. Or do you not know? Let’s feel
the love right now. Feeling the love? vs. 19. Point to yourself. My body. My body. This body. My
body is right now the temple, house, housing of the Spirit. No, the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God. He’s like, the words are piling on now making an
impression upon us that the Spirit of the living God rests inside of us. We take him wherever we
go. Whatever we see, he sees. Whatever we hear, he hears. Whatever we do, he is present.
Wow! That is amazing! vs. 19b-20. Help us Lord to glorify you. He says therefore. When it says
“therefore,” you got to see what it’s there for, right! Therefore, the conclusion is, if God has
deemed us righteous enough in Christ to be the transporters, the Ubers, the taxis of the Spirit of
the living God, then how can we not glorify God in our body and in our spirit, our human spirit,
because we are actually a spirit that has a soul that has a body. He says “therefore which are
God’s.” So when we rise from the grave, then we will have a glorious body like unto his glorious
body. This is by the working of him who can do anything and this is what he will do. Jesus came
forth from the grave in his body. His body was sacred.

His body the disciples saw and touched. And then John saw him in heaven and woe! That was another stage. That was his glorified body where the one that felt comfortable enough to lean upon Jesus breast when he saw him in
heaven, all he could do was fall down like a dead man because the radiant glory that exuded
from the Lamb of God was more than he could handle even in a vision. Could you imagine. Our
bodies will be like unto his glorious body to some degree. We don’t know how that works but
“eye has not seen, ear has not heard, neither has it entered into the heart of God’s people the
things that God has for those who love him.” The house that he is preparing.

The intercession that is going on on our behalf and what God is doing in his Body right now. We are the temple of
the Holy Spirit. We are God’s people. It’s no small thing, is it? It’s no small thing. If when we see
each other, we are not just looking at another person. We are looking at in a sense a holy of
holies. We are looking at a holy of holies. That’s how sacred the work of God is. That’s how
sacred we are to one another. There goes familiarity and there goes anything that would cause
anyone to stumble and that makes us very conscientious of God’s presence within us. So lots of
love to us. Thank you, Lord. He loves us. He is the Savior. He is for us. He is in us. He’s taking
us home. He’s got big plans. (Prayer).

P. Schaller – We’ll have a closing song. We have prayer for Brent and P. Dominic, right? Brent, do we pray for your trip to Columbia? Is that it? I don’t really know. Do you come up here or do
we pray for you there? I don’t know what you were asking. Were you asking for prayer. Do they
come up here? Okay. Alright. As they come and then we’re going to sing. I was thinking about
being a new believer. How many of you would say you are kind of like a new believer? You’re
just kind of learning? This is kind of new for you. Just raise your hand. Okay. Let’s see. Any
Federal Hill people here. They’re old saints. Now, when he was preaching and the doctrine and
the teaching, it reminded me when I was first a new believer and I was listening to this man
speak. It was so much like what I just heard. It was stirring my heart. I was hearing the Word of
God. I started to think this is different.

This is like God is speaking from the Bible and I’m responding to it. You have initiation and then your response. It’s between you and God in worship. It’s what we call in our ministry highest form of worship is listening to God as he speaks from his Word. So we concentrate and we respond and listen and respond and we are in
fellowship with God. We are the temple and the Spirit dwells in us. I start to believe that yes, I
have victory over sexual immorality. Yes, there are other things that are kind of under my feet.
Yes, I believe. I don’t know how it works. I don’t think I can do it but I’m believing what he’s
saying and then it happens. Like in the fall, the leaves fall off the trees. I kind of feel that
happens in our lives too. As we are living, God gets rid of things. I start thinking this way and
believing him and things disappear. I decide. I grow up. I start making these decisions based on
what God is saying. Then you have more, you have peace. Also your life has a kind of direction
and a method. The method is listening and believing and responding in your heart and then in
that you find yourself walking with God.

It says Enoch walked with God and what happened? He was not. Enouch walked with God and he was not. Enoch walked with God and then kind of disappeared. Where did Enoch go? His wife could say, where’s Enoch? I’m calling him all the time and he doesn’t answer. Enoch is not picking up. Where did he go? The old man is no
longer running our life but we have a response to God. How can two walk together except they
be agreed? And as they are in agreement, there is something that falls away. You don’t go back
looking for it. You don’t go back picking it up. You just feel. You just move on and God takes
care of you. God does. He takes care of you. That’s it. Wasn’t that a good message? Thanks,
Pastor. That was amazing. Beautiful. Amazing. I’m so excited about going to heaven. I’m
excited about my changed life. This is getting on to be 50 years. It’s amazing. That’s amazing
that – it’s still exciting and precious because God is God.

That’s amazing, isn’t it? We’re going to sing a song. We have direction. We have the direction and kind of get that in your heart. Listen to this. Look not at the things that are seen. What are some things that are seen? Look not at
the things that are seen. This room, I can look at the room. I can look at my apartment. I can
look out the window. I can look at the beautiful stars and everything. It says don’t look at what
you can see. It says look at what is not seen. I can’t see heaven but I’m looking at it. I’m waiting.
I’m excited about it. I just believe it. It’s amazing. You look at not what is seen. What is seen
kind of captures you. It captures you. You got to be detached. I am in the world but somehow it
doesn’t have the same power and authority over me. I’m kind of detached because I’m not
looking at it. Remember Lot’s wife. The angel said don’t look back at Sodom and Gomorrah but
she looked back because she had to. That’s how she lived.

She looked at what you could see. Remember Abraham and Lot and it says that Abraham said, Lot, you go that way, I’ll go that way. You go east, I’ll go west. You go west, I’ll go east. And it says Lot lifted up his eyes and he
saw how beautiful Sodom and Gomorrah was. He said I’ll go there. Abraham said, fine. I’ll go
there. Cause I’m not looking at what is seen. I got something else going on in my heart. I’m
living by faith. How about people – don’t take this the wrong way – when I was in Bible school,
some people moved to California and P. Stevens asked if I could go to Finland. I thought, I want
to go to California. I never made it out there as a hippie. I was a hippie hitchhiking around the
country but I never made it that far. I want to go there because that’s like – how about people
want to move to Florida or California or Montana or they want to go to some other place. Why?
Because of what you see or what you don’t see? What you don’t see. You can’t live by what you
see except when you’re going to get married. Be sure she looks pretty good! You got to have
that. That’s got to be part of it, you know.

That’s my philosophy about it! Anyway, I need God to do it because men are crazy. Ladies, do you know that? Don’t trust them. Men are nuts! Men can’t get it straight. You got to have a godly man. He won’t get it right. And you need to get it
right, too. But as we walk with God, I think we got a pretty good shot of having it work out okay. I
think I’m done now because I hit that subject. I got to finish. Would you pray with me.