From Death to Life

Friends,

A story by Sydney Lupkin of ABC News from two months ago -- When 17-year-old Lawrence Yahle learned his father was dead earlier this month at Kettering Medical Center in Ohio, he ran down the hall to see nurses around his father's body. They weren't trying to revive him anymore. Distraught, Lawrence pointed and shouted, "Dad, you're not going to die today." Moments later, Anthony Yahle's heart monitor showed signs of life, Dr. Raja Nazir, his cardiologist at Kettering Medical Center, told ABCNews.com. It wasn't a regular heartbeat, but once or twice a minute, the monitor would pick up tiny electrical movements. "When I looked at the electrical activity, I was surprised," Nazir said. "I thought we'd better make another effort to revive him." Nazir gave one of Yahle's hanging medicine bags a squeeze to restore his blood pressure and the team began working on him again. "Very slowly, the heart rate was picking up," Nazir said. That was more than a week ago, on Aug. 5. Doctors thought Yahle, a 37-year-old diesel mechanic, would need a heart transplant or be in a vegetative state the rest of his life, but he's home resting and seems fine. "I'm calling it a miracle because I've never seen anything like it," Nazir said. Yahle's near-death experience started at 4 a.m. that day, when his wife, Melissa Yahle, woke up and realized his breathing didn't sound right. Melissa, who has been a nurse for seven years, said she tried unsuccessfully to wake him up. Melissa and Lawrence performed CPR until an ambulance could arrive, and first responders found a heartbeat after shocking Yahle several times. At the hospital, doctors expected Yahle's arteries to be clogged, but they were clear. Things were looking positive until later that afternoon, when Yahle's heart stopped. He "coded" for 45 minutes as doctors tried to revive him. "We looked at each other," Nazir said. "We'd given him all the medicine we had in our code cart. At some point, you have to call it off." Nazir said he wasn't sure exactly how long Yahle was "dead," before Lawrence ran down the hall to tell his father he couldn't die that day. "Suddenly that trickle of a thing came back," Nazir said. "We were lucky we saw and reacted to it, and that brought him back." Nazir said it was "mind boggling." Melissa said she, Lawrence and the people from their church who were praying with them witnessed a miracle. Yahle was transferred to Ohio State University, and he returned home to West Carrollton on Aug. 10 with a defibrillator in his chest. He doesn't remember any of the experience after he went to bed on Aug. 4. "He doesn't have one broken rib," Melissa said. "He's not sore. These are things that just clinically don't happen." Yeah…except they do. This is what happens with God. He has a way of doing miracles…in His way and at His discretion, of course. This seems to be a pretty prominent theme in the Bible.  Here, we have the story of a young person who dies and comes back to life by the power of God.

This is the first recorded instance in the Word of God of a person being raised from the dead (1 Kings 17:17-24). It is evident that the young man in the story is dead, as it not only indicates that he stopped breathing, but that his spirit has left his body (vv.21-22). His mother is grieving, as well. It is interesting to note that the mother’s response is to feel guilty because of past sins. She believes that her son’s death is God’s way of punishing her for misdeeds. It is not uncommon for people to feel guilt in connection with bereavement, but is curious that she points her finger at her guest. She recognizes Elijah as a man of God. Perhaps, she believes that his presence should have protected her and her son, and should have prevented her son’s death.

Elijah’s response is to carry the boy to the upstairs room and to cry out to the Lord for the life of the child. He can’t believe that the Lord would miraculously provide food for the three of them and then allow the son to die. There has to be something else at work. Elijah doesn’t stretch himself out on the boy’s dead body in hope that he could somehow transfer his life to the lad, because he knows that only God can impart life. It is after Elijah stretches himself out on the boy for the third time that he comes back to life. Is this a coincidence…given that our Lord arose on the third day after His death? I would say -- probably not. There seems to be a looking ahead or foreshadowing to Jesus’ experience in most, if not all, of “the raising from the dead” stories. In a similar manner, Paul raises the boy Eutychus in Acts 20, as it says, “Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. ‘Don't be alarmed,’ he said. ‘He's alive!’” (v.20)

The result of the miracle is the woman’s confession of her faith in the God of Israel. She now understands that Elijah is a true servant of God, and not just some religious teacher looking for support. This is all interesting since God has already provided food for the widow through Elijah, as we go back to the previous message. So, the God of the universe is not only able to sustain life, He also grants life. Like the man with the five talents, Elijah has proven himself to be faithful…all while in enemy territory. During these three years on the run, Elijah has learned a great deal about the Lord, about himself and about the needs of people…which is good, because he is about to face his greatest challenge.

One final thought…Jesus uses this story Himself (Luke 4:25-26) to emphasize the grace of God on people. This is an important message, not only in the New Covenant, but in the Old, as well.

One might ask -- what is the purpose in the raising of one from death to life? We will consider this thought in Paul’s relationship to Jesus. What can we see from Paul’s life in regards to the impact of the resurrected Christ? One commentator notes: “The truth and power of the resurrected Christ brought three great changes in Paul. First, was a deep recognition of sin. For the first time he realized how far his external religious life was from being internally godly. He saw himself as he really was…an enemy of God and a persecutor of His church. Second, he experienced a revolution of character. From a persecutor of the church he became her greatest defender. His life was transformed from one characterized by self–righteous hatred to one characterized by self–giving love. He changed from oppressor to servant, from imprisoner to deliverer, from judge to friend, from a taker of life to a giver of life. Third, he experienced a dramatic redirection of energy. As zealously as he had once opposed God’s redeemed he now served them”. (MacArthur, J. F. (1984). First Corinthians. MacArthur New Testament commentary (395). Chicago: Moody Press.)

And what does this story mean for us? Once again, we see the providence of God at work. The God who protects Elijah for three years, who protects the widow and her son, can also protect us. Not only this, I believe that the story is not only a foreshadowing of Jesus’ resurrection, but it is also a foreshadowing of ours. It we believe that Jesus is raised from the dead and that He is coming again for us to take us home to be with Him…then, as we have studies in 1 Thessalonians 4, etc., we will likewise be raised from the dead! The miracle that takes place for Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit, also takes place for all who have trusted in Him for salvation, just as Martha indicates to Jesus, "I know he (Lazarus) will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." Jesus said to her, "I am the Resurrection and the Life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies…” (John 11:24-25, NIV) This is our hope!

Blessings, Don

A Home with the Lord

Friends,

In his first letter to the Corinthian church, Paul emphasizes to them (3:9-15) that they need to take care to use good materials for building of their (spiritual) house…and that the foundation for the house must be Jesus Christ.  Some of the Corinthian believers are going back to following the mindset of their culture, and are engaging in worldly, selfish attitudes and behaviors.  They need to return to their “first love”...an important message that Paul encourages the Corinthians to consider.  He wants them to build on the foundation a spiritual house, or as Jesus tells it in the Sermon on the Mount, to build upon the Rock.  If we allow Jesus to be in control of our lives, one day we will have a spiritual home with Him in heaven …and a spiritual body in order to take up residence there. 

Jesus shares with his disciples in John 14:1ff that He is going to make things better.  He is going away to prepare a place for them.  He is going to a heavenly place to prepare to welcome them to a better home.  Paul, in this passage, sees the body that we all have simply as a temporary shelter…a tent.  The body is only a temporary house for the soul.  And Paul is a tentmaker, so this is an easy analogy for him to make.  In fact, I saw a saying recently that made this point succinctly.  It said, “You do not have a soul…you are a soul and your soul has a body.”  This is so true.  Paul longs to be free from his present imperfect body.  He truly anticipates his spiritual body that he will receive one day when Jesus Christ comes again.  This should be the same experience and yearning for everyone who is in Christ. 

Paul teaches the Corinthians that when a believer dies, the body goes to the grave, and the soul goes on to be with Christ.  Some false teachers at that time denied that there would be any future bodily resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:12ff), but envisioned some sort of disembodied immortality.  Even though it is hard to understand exactly what will take place in the end times, Paul says that believers will not be bodiless for eternity, but at the 2nd Coming of Christ, they will “be clothed again.”  At the Second Coming, Christ (His Spirit) will reunite soul and body in miraculous manner to make a spiritual, eternal body that lives on with God forever (1 Thessalonians 4:13ff, 1 Corinthians 15:43ff).  Paul describes this glorified body as “beautiful.”  It will never decay as do our earthly bodies, for the spiritual body is suited for heaven.  Paul longs for this!  We must not be frustrated or fear as it relates to the trials and sufferings of this life, but we must be patient and long for eternity with the Lord.  Paul’s ambition is to please Christ…to live for Him.  This is due to the fact that he understood that death would be the beginning of his actually being in the presence of the Lord (Philippians 1:20-25).  To have the hope of communion with Christ face to face following death should motivate all of us to live right now.  In this, we need to be faithful and trust in Him in order that one day we can be with Him.  John shares, “Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Revelation 2:10, NIV).  The Father has given each person the opportunity to receive a spiritual body, and it is all possible through the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ, shed on the cross.  Jesus came and died in order to take away the sins of mankind.  His blood washes our sins away.  Jesus was the first one to be raised eternal from the dead in order that one day we might be raised with Him when He does come again.  Like Paul, we need to see heaven not simply as a destination, but as a motivation.  The tent that we live in will come down.  We must long for something better…an eternal dwelling…and receive it.

It is known from history that some of the early Spanish explorers to this (Western) part of the world were searching for “the eternal fountain of youth.”  One explorer in particular thought he had discovered it among the islands of the Bahamas.  However, his was only a dream, as he would…before too many years…grow old and perish.  Man has always had a yearning for this fountain or Holy Grail (as depicted by Indiana Jones and many other movies, etc.)  If people would only realize that they do have access to this fountain…it is found in the Living Water of Jesus Christ.  There is not much hope for this physical body…this “tent” is going to come down.  We must not fear, though, because even the body dies, there is hope.  We may be frustrated with the trials and the sufferings of this life, but we must be patient, long for an imperishable, spiritual body one day.

What is a significant concern to me, though, is that we live in a world where people live as if they are imperishable in these perishable bodies.  I have known many other young people, even those raised in Christian families, who have chosen to live a worldly existence.  I had a discussion with one such “Christian” young man one time, and I asked him why he was living the way that he was at the time.  He said that “he enjoyed the world.”  If the world system was entirely unpresentable, then it certainly would not be so easy for Satan to tempt people to give up the eternal for the sake of the temporal.  I tried to get him to understand that the way we live now has eternal ramifications.  He believed that he had plenty of time in order to straighten out his life.  Fortunately for him, he was able to truly find the Lord and put aside his worldly ways.  That is not always the case, however.  We live in a time where people, including many believers, think that they can live however they wish in relationship to the world system and that it is ok.  Many other believers have no time to be with the body of Christ, but are too busy.  I believe that these are places where there is a great false sense of security at work.  The Lord does not call us to be His spiritual people in this world that we would live in any of these ways, but that we would be productive citizens in the Kingdom of God and for the Body of Christ.  Once we realize that our present living has eternal ramifications, it should focus us and motivate us toward living a faithful life for the Lord.  Friends, we are building for eternity. Do we build with inferior materials or do we build with choice materials on the foundation of Christ? Don’t ever forget, the house we will have later on depends on the material we are using now.  And if we are genuinely faithful, committed until death or until Christ comes again, we will have a home with Him for eternity.

Blessings, Don

Holy, Holy, Holy

Friends,

“Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, early in the morning, our song shall rise to Thee; Holy, Holy, Holy, merciful and mighty, God overall and blest eternally.”  How true it is – God is holy, and as we have seen previously, He expects His people to be holy.  This seems to be something of a lost virtue over the past few decades…but, it is no less important in relationship to living a Godly life than it has ever been.  In fact, it is my contention that this is a significantly important reason as to why our society is in the shape that it is today…and it is not going to get healthy any time soon.  And yet, this also changes nothing as it relates to our responsibility to be God’s people, who value and live in relationship to purity and morality.  I truly believe we see the words of Jesus in Matthew chapters 7 and chapters 24-25 coming to bear more so all of the time.  That which is going to separate those who are on the wide and narrow roads, or separate the sheep and the goats…and we are talking about religious people…is the difference between whether said people live holy, servant lives and remain as unstained by the world as possible.

In Leviticus 24, it is revealed that there were two sections in the tabernacle…the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies.  In the Holy Place was located three pieces of furniture – the golden altar of incense, table of showbread, and the golden lampstand. Since there were no windows in the tabernacle, it was necessary to have light in the holy place so that the priests were able to see as they were ministering in there.  The lampstand provided the light.  Each morning and evening when the high priest burned incense on the golden altar, he was to care for the lights on the lampstand to be certain that they would continue to burn.  The lampstand…with the oil…symbolized the Word of God, the light that God provided for His people in this dark world.  God’s people couldn't see effectively without it then and they cannot today either. The lampstand also provided light so that the priest could burn incense on the golden altar…this symbolized the prayers of God’s people going up to Him (Psalms 141:2).  In a like manner, apart from the Scriptures, we cannot pray effectively. The lampstand also symbolized the nation of Israel, called to be God’s shining light to a dark world. Unfortunately, the priesthood became wicked and failed to maintain the nation’s light before the Lord.  Still, the people needed to bring oil so the lights could be kept burning in the holy place.

Loaves of bread were put on the golden table every Sabbath…and then the old bread was given to the priests to eat.  What do they symbolize?  The table was called, “the table of showbread,” and the loaves were called “the showbread”, which can be translated, “the bread of presence.” God was present with his people and they were able to be in His presence in the tabernacle.  It assured God’s people that He was concerned about the “practical matters” in their lives. No matter where the Jews were in the camp, they needed to remind themselves that their people were represented (12 loaves for 12 tribes) in the holy place on the golden table (Colossians 3:1). Also, the loaves reminded the priest that his ministry was for real people.  Being somewhat isolated in the tabernacle day after day, the priests could easily get out of touch with the people that they represented before God.

The final matter in this chapter is of a more serious concern.  The Jews knew the third commandment, “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.”  So fearful were they of breaking it, that they substituted the name “Adonai” for “Jehovah,” when they would read the Scriptures.  Here is the account of a man who has blasphemed, who used the name of God in vain.  There was a consequence…there was a punishment to pay…and it was death. Obedience to the Law was a very serious matter.  To respect a name was to respect the person who would bear that name, and the opposite was also true…and their highest respect was to belong to the Lord. Moses sought the will of the Lord in the matter. He was humble enough to admit that he did not know everything, and he asked the Lord concerning what to do in this situation. The Lord’s decision was handed down to the transgressor…as the lex talionis, “law of retaliation” was in effect (Exodus 21:22-25).  It showed respect for the law, life and humans made after the image of God. For the guilty one, the punishment was carried out.  The law, at this time, was an expression of God’s justice and compassion, because it helped to restrain personal revenge in a society where there was no police force or large judicial system.  It is challenging for us to understand, nonetheless.

It is important to understand a principle that does not really get much respect today, unfortunately, so it is difficult for us to understand it.  God’s “proper” name, Yahweh, was and is a sacred and holy name.  His name is to be respected by His people Israel…and it was so.  The power of God’s name was evident, just as Jesus’ is during the time of the first century (and beyond).  Those who would call on the name of the Lord had life, just as those who misused the name would be punished with death. In this regard, nothing that God has said that is holy has changed – it is still holy.  The consequences of blaspheming by using the name of God may have changed, but not the respect all should have for God’s Holy Name…although, those who blaspheme the name and will of the Lord by living ungodly lives will face the consequences of their attitudes and actions.  We must give God’s name the respect that He deserves as our Creator and Sustainer. It is quite evident that our world abuses God’s name and ignores His power to its own destruction.  And I will say this – this also has never changed.  We must call on His name to empower us, as seen in the Lord’s Prayer, “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed (holy, but beyond this really -- ultimate respect) be your name.”  We must regularly remind ourselves that we need to rely, not upon ourselves, but upon the Lord God in His holiness, understanding. When we do…He makes us holy, mature.

Blessings, Don

Passing from Death to Life, Part 2

Friends,

Mike Wilkins tells this story -- In Donald Miller’s book “Blue Like Jazz,” he has a chapter called “Love: How to Really Love Other People."  He was at a lecture by Greg Spencer that talked about the metaphors that we use around (amongst other things) relationships. We talk about how we value people, invest in people, how we say people are priceless, or that a relationship is bankrupt. All these metaphors are economic ones. “And that’s when it hit me -- the problem with Christian culture is we think of love as a commodity. We use it like money. Professor Spencer was right, and not only was he right, I felt as though he had cured me, as though he had let me out of my cage. I could see it very clearly…if somebody is doing something for us, offering us something, be it gifts, time, popularity, or what have you, we feel they have value, we feel they are worth something to us, and perhaps, we feel they are priceless. This was the thing that had smelled so rotten all these years. I used love like money. The church used love like money. With love, we withheld affirmation from the people who did not agree with us, but we lavishly financed the ones who did.” There are always going to be those situations in our lives where it feels like we are going to use love “as a commodity,” rather than allow love to transform us. We cannot withhold love from our friends, or from those with whom we disagree. We learn and grow in relationship to allowing the Spirit, in love, to help us to learn to disagree agreeably…to move on and to grow.  In this, we mature in Christ.  I think that this is the concept that John shares in his first letter. In 3:11ff, love isn’t just a commodity, but it is who we are – we are producers.

I my previous message, I talked about how the Christian is supposed “to pass from death to life” in the Ephesian letter.  It is a personal, spiritual journey…we go from living in the flesh to resurrected, spiritual beings for Jesus. So…is that all there is to it?  Does this take place in a vacuum…or, is there more to the story?  John says…yes, there is.  So, here we go. He starts us off by talking about the children of our “first parents,” Adam and Eve.  Cain and Abel had the same parents, but they approached life from completely different perspectives. They both had the same opportunities – they both brought sacrifices to God…both acted, but one had a heart that was thankful, while the other had a heart that was indifferent.  Abel’s offering was “by faith”…Cain’s, however, was not. And instead of listening to God concerning His heart problem, Cain listened to the voice of the evil one. Instead of repenting, he was filled with jealousy and hatred toward his righteous brother, whom he plotted against and destroyed. Cain’s attitude represents the system of this world…serve self…look out for number 1…trample on those who keep you from goals #1, 2.

When people in the world come face to face with the truth of Jesus Christ, it forces them to go in one of two directions – repentance and submission to Christ…or defiance and antagonism. In effect, hatred is the destruction of the spirit, according to John and has the same effectual quality as “murder”…which is not a good thing, obviously. This is where the world resides, but it doesn’t have to be this way…what is the answer? It is found in “passing from death to life,” which John equates to “living according to love”.  It is a living out of the resurrected life that we talked about last week…it is about living in the Spirit, walking in newness of life, and so on. We cannot stay in the angst of hatred, jealousy and living according to the flesh – this is “to stay dead.” John says that “true love” means loving in deed and truth.  We are no longer simply to talk about meeting needs or loving others…we must find ways to do it. One of the reasons that sinners were so attracted to Jesus is that they were certain that He would love them in a sincere and unbiased way.

What kind of love would it take to come down from heaven to be among men?  What kind of love would it take to struggle through the Garden of Gethsemane…to die on a cross and be raised from the dead to eternity? This is a costly love, a sacrificial love…it is unconditional. When believers choose to live in this committed, sacrificial way of love, there are some tremendous benefits. The first is assurance. If we love, our understanding of God’s truth grows and we can enjoy hearts filled with loving confidence before God, and confidence in our salvation. Another blessing is answered prayer. Because of our confidence toward God, we can ask of God…and He can answer. Love proves that we are living in the will of God. In addition, our relationships with our brothers and sisters in Christ cannot be divorced from our prayer lives.  Living in the right, loving relationship with our brothers and sisters enables our prayers to be answered.  A final blessing is abiding.  From the upper room to the garden, Jesus illustrated this principle, comparing His followers to branches in a vine (which we are going to get to in a couple of weeks). If we abide in Christ…obeying His Word…living holy lives…then the fruit of the Spirit of love is going to become evident in our lives. 

What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?  Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.  If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?  In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.  But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do” (James 2:14-18 NIV). As the saying goes, “All it takes in order for evil to succeed is for ‘the good’ to do nothing.”  One might think I am talking about politics…no, but the everyday living of the Christian life. As Randy Harris shares, “What happens when people make themselves available to the work of the Spirit? (To use a band/choir analogy), He helps us to hit or sing the right notes.  We can trust our instinct to be right most of the time…this is spiritual maturity." Love is not indifferent…as it was with Cain, but is proactive…as it was with Abel.  Love is not static, but dynamic.  Love is a verb, much more so than a noun when it comes to our lives. Love is not apathetic (notice there is only one letter difference between “apathetic” and “pathetic”), but it is passionate…it cares enough to encourage, to confront, to bless. We live in a culture, not only where people…including many believers…are apathetic, don’t care, but where people expect things to come to them -- but this is not the way of Christ. We can’t expect that it is always going to be “someone else’s responsibility” as it relates to being Jesus to the world or to the brethren. There are way too many folks who live a “consumer Christianity”…who treat it like a “commodity”, rather than a “producer lifestyle.” Once again, James has a word for us, “Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says” (James 1:22 NIV). Be a producer.

Blessings, Don