Keeping the Resurrection Real

Friends,

Rodney Buchanan shares this story -- I read a recent magazine article about a pastor and his encounter with some unbelievers while having breakfast. Here is how he tells the story: “My wife and I were vacationing in Estes Park, Colorado, and had breakfast in a coffee shop. It was empty except for four men at another table. One was mocking Christianity, and in particular, the Resurrection of Christ. He went on and on about what a stupid teaching that was. I could feel the Lord asking me: ‘Are you going to let this go unchallenged?’ However I was thinking, But I don’t even know these guys. He’s bigger than me. He’s got cowboy boots on and looks tough. I was agitated and frightened about doing anything. But I knew I had to stand for Jesus. Finally, I told Susan to pray. I took my last drink of water and went over and challenged him. With probably a squeaky voice, I said, ‘I’ve been listening to you, and you don’t know what you’re talking about.’ I did my best to give him a flying rundown of the proofs for the resurrection. He was speechless, and I was half dead. I must have shaken for an hour after that. But I had to take a stand. We cannot remain anonymous in our faith forever. God has a way of flushing us out of our quiet little places, and when He does we must be ready to speak for him.” I admire this pastor’s courage and his determination to be a witness, regardless of how difficult it was. A lot of Christians would have just sat there in fear or fumed, thinking about how terrible the things were that these men were saying. I realize that I have the opportunity of looking back with hindsight on the situation, but it seems to me that he missed the most important and impressive proof of the resurrection — his own life. I wonder if it would not have been more effective to walk over to the men at the table and say something like this: “You know, I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation, and found it very interesting. If you don’t mind, I would like to pay for all of your breakfasts. The reason I want to do this is that, because of the resurrection, Jesus Christ has changed my life and lives in me, and wants to communicate his tremendous love for you.” Rational arguments do not change people…changed lives do. Changed lives change the lives of others, and thereby change the world. 

I want to take a closer look at resurrection applied, now that we are about a month removed from Easter.  Resurrection does not mean a whole lot to us unless we are living like “resurrection” people who one day will be resurrected. And this brings us to Pauls’ explanation concerning the importance of the resurrection for us. (1 Corinthians 15:1-23) Paul is addressing the Corinthian church, and there are some there who have some misunderstandings concerning Jesus’ resurrection.  Paul seeks to correct these issues.  Paul shares that one of the greatest proofs of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ were His many post-resurrection appearances.  15:6 says that Jesus appears to more than 500 people!  So, there are many people that could testify to the trustworthiness of the Resurrection of Jesus. The reality of His appearance is that a transformation in Jesus’ followers takes place. This is evidence of the reality of the resurrection.  Lee Strobel writes, “Nobody willingly dies for something that they know is false.”(Case for Easter, p.88). But they know that the Resurrection is true, so they are willing their lives because of their belief in the resurrection of Jesus.  And the reality of the resurrection’s transforming power doesn’t stop with the eyewitnesses, but ultimately affects thousands of people.

So the question is, “Why should Christ’s resurrection be important to me?”  As we have seen, the Resurrection proves that Jesus is God and not an imposter. Paul opens the letter to the Romans (1:1-4) and reveals that the Resurrection proves Jesus to be the Son of God and brings us face to face with the fact that He is who He claims to be -- God. The founder of every other religion has found a way to die and stayed dead. Jesus rose again. This is important to us because it forces us to make a decision about our lives. Since Christ is who He claimed to be, how will you respond to Him? We need to come to understand that the Resurrection makes your salvation possible. Without the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, every person is still dead in their sins. If Christ did not rise, then you are still dead in your sins and your Christian faith is worthless and anyone you’ve known who died a believer is just as lost as an unbeliever. But, faith in Christ is not in vain. “He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” (Romans 4:25)  It is important to you, because Jesus’ being alive means the way to God has been “paved” by Jesus and you can be made right with Him and have relationship with Him this morning.

One final, important matter to consider is that the Resurrection makes your resurrection possible.  You and I are spirit and body -- we are spiritual and physical. Our resurrection is only made possible by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. As Stanley Horton points out, “Christ’s resurrection and ours are part of one and the same plan of God.” (Horton, Stanley. I & II Corinthians. p. 150)  Christ’s resurrection guarantees our own “spiritual,” bodily resurrection. The Bible refers to Him as being the ‘first fruits,’ which guarantees the whole harvest, of which you and I are a part if we are in Christ. In other words, since He was raised first, we know we will be raised. (vv. 20-23)  Paul says, “We ourselves, who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved.” (Romans 8:23)  This ‘first fruits of the Spirit’ spoken of in Romans 8:23 is elsewhere referred to as a deposit or guarantee, in Ephesians 1:14, 2 Corinthians 1:22 and 2 Corinthians 5:5.  The Spirit’s indwelling is a guarantee that much more is on the way. We have the down payment of the Spirit, but are awaiting the full transaction that will come to fruition when our bodies are resurrected and we live forever with Him. When will our resurrection take place? The passage says “When he comes”…whenever that is to be. When we receive “resurrected” spiritual bodies at Jesus’ second coming, our current bodies will be transformed.  They will be bodies completely perfect and dominated by the Spirit rather than the sinful nature. We are awaiting the day our bodies are completely made new and free of the weight of sin and be entirely spiritual. “For in this hope we were saved” indeed…resurrection is our hope.  When Christ returns we will see Him and we will be transformed -- what a blessed hope indeed!

Unlike the beliefs of the Greek philosophers who thought the body was evil and something we should want to be released from, God made our bodies as part of who we are and they complete us. Right now our bodies are affected by sin and they die, but God has a plan to resurrect our bodies to perfection. So now, just look at yourself. Take a minute. Do you feel too fat? Too thin? Got hurting knees or allergies? Losing your hair? Whatever problems and imperfections you have are temporary and will one day be changed in the twinkling of an eye…if you are in Christ.  That is our hope. It is the completion for us of “the extreme body makeover”…a heavenly body for eternal living. While you may be as broken as Humpty Dumpty because of sin that is not fixable by anyone in the world, the tomb is genuinely empty and Jesus is definitely alive.  What He did on the cross paid for your sins and you’ve been given an opportunity to not only be fixed, but to become a new creation and to have fellowship with God. This is the joy of living in the Resurrection. God can fix you spiritually and you can have the hope that He will one day complete your redemption by redeeming your body to be something like Jesus’ body!  

Blessings, Don

The Lord’s Prayer – The Personal Version, pt.1

Friends,

James Chandler shares this story – “I was driving the other day with my family when a car cut me off. I pulled out to go around him. As I sped up so did he. Faster and faster we both accelerated. Finally I put on the brakes so I could let him go. AS I slowed down, he also slowed down. Now I was furious. (Stop me if this has never happened to you). I looked over at the driver so I could give him a piece of my mind and when I did, I saw a good friend and church member driving the car. He was laughing hysterically. Sometimes on the highway of Christianity, we allow little things to annoy us, to distract us, to make us forget where we are going and why we are going there. I know that I have better days and “worser” days in relationship to this. Sometimes, spiritually speaking, we need to pull over at a rest stop, look at the map and make sure that spiritually we are going the right direction to reach our destination." In a sense, this is what Jesus is modeling by offering His High Priestly prayer on behalf of Himself, the apostles, and for all of His followers. He certainly knew precisely where He was going, as He shares with Thomas and the other disciples back in chapter 14. But, He wants to be certain that we know where we are going, and He offers some significant encouragement along the way. This prayer has been an inspiration to untold millions of people. If we want to be successful in reaching our destination, we need to make what is closest to His heart close to our hearts.

This is the greatest prayer ever prayed on earth and the greatest prayer ever recorded in the Word of God. This chapter is what one has described as “the holy of holies” of the gospel record, and we much approach it with a spirit of humility and reverence. This is all especially fascinating in that we are all privileged to listen to the Son’s conversation with His Father just before He is about to give His life up for (all) sinners. Jesus has just encouraged His disciples by telling them that He has overcome the world. (16:33) And now He prays for their security, their joy, their unity and their future glory. Jesus’ final session of equipping is to ask the Father to be present in a very real and personal way for all of them. As mentioned, He is also praying for us. This is not a cultural thought, but a message with universal and eternal ramifications. He knows that we, likewise, need encouragement.

R.A. Torrey shares, “A prayer for self is not by any means a selfish prayer.” Jesus’ burden was the glory of God, and this glory is going to be fully realized in His finished work on the cross. And the servant of God has every right to ask His Father for the help needed to glorify His name. “The hour has come” reminds us of the divine timetable that Jesus was living according to while He was on the earth. Jesus has known this from the beginning of time as we know it, and He knows that He has been in the will of the Father.

The important word glory is used eight times in this prayer, so we know that this is an important theme. Jesus glorified His Father through the various miracles He performed…but, His greatest glory was thorough His sufferings and death. From our perspective, this is difficult to understand, because Calvary was a terrible display of man’s sin. But, from a divine point of view, the cross revealed and magnified the grace of God. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 (NIV) Jesus anticipates His return to heaven when He says, “I have finished the work that You have given me to do.” (17:4) The word give is also an important word, as it is used in one form or another, seventeen times in this section. A number of these uses are related to the fact that Jesus says that believers are the Father’s gift to the Son. We are accustomed to thinking that Jesus’ is the Father’s love gift to us, but the Lord affirms that we are the Father’s love gift to His Son…which is pretty amazing. He is the bridegroom and we, as the church, are His bride.

Yet another important theme is eternal life. It is also mentioned seventeen times. This is God’s free gift to those who believe on His Son. The Father gave His Son the authority to grant eternal life to those whom the Father gave to the Son. From a human perspective, we receive this gift when believe in Jesus Christ and obey the gospel. Eternal life is not something we earn by character of conduct...it is a gift we receive by admitting that we are sinners, who repent and believe on Jesus Christ. Going back to the end of chapter 16 once again, and coming full circle – because we share His life, we are overcomers, for we also share in Jesus’ victory! As John also shares in his first letter, “For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.” (1 John 5:4 NIV) This is Good News indeed!

“Some men become proud and insolent because they ride a fine horse, wear a feather in their hat or are dressed in a fine suit of clothes. Who does not see the folly of this? If there be any glory in such things, the glory belongs to the horse, the bird and the tailor.” St. Francis de Sales. It is good for us to remember such things. It is not our place to glory in ourselves, but to accept and live for Jesus’ glory and to magnify Him. It is on the basis of Jesus’ finished work, that we believers have the gift of eternal life. And we are called to the life that our Savior lived. He shares with the disciples back in chapter 13 that a student is not greater than His Master…if He was going to be persecuted and suffer, that we will as well. The matter of suffering and glory must be kept in proper perspective. The Christian experience is not one of grim determination which causes one to face a life of suffering and sorrow with glory to follow later. The Christian life is the abundant life (John 10:10b). It is one of joy and peace...right now! In times of difficulty, our faith is deepened, our fellowship with God is enriched, and we experience deep joy in the midst of difficulties (John 17:13; 1 Peter 4:13; 2 Corinthians 12:10). It is through suffering and adversity that we come to appreciate God as our great reward, as well as our Rewarder. When all of our human resources have been spent, we find our sufficiency in Christ alone (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

As one person has shared, "We have a good measure of life’s pleasures and fulfillments. These the Lord sweetens with His presence and peace, blending the bitter and the sweet in such a way as to bring about His glory and our good." We can rest in these things.

Blessings, Don

Considering Jesus' Message concerning the Sheep and the Goats

Friends,

A handwritten paper pinned on the wall of the chapel where Mother Teresa worked in Calcutta, India said: "When I was homeless you opened your doors. When I was naked you gave me your coat. When I was in prison, you came to my cell. When I was lonely, you gave me your love. Searching for kindness you held out your hand. When I was happy, you shared your joy. Every person, often the ones closest to us, is offering a gift -- a chance to love.” This sounds familiar, doesn't it? As one of her humble friends relates -- Mother Teresa was a powerful servant of God. She was more than a Christian saint...her entire life radiated love and service.

Jesus tells this story in Matthew 25:31-46 -- "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' "They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' "He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

There is a lot to consider here...and most of it is difficult. As I think about it, I do not believe that most people like this story, or they are at least uncomfortable with it. We certainly do not want to be with the goats, yet everyone believes that they are sheep. The truth is likely somewhere in between. Much of this is due to the fact that we like such stories it as they relate to other people, but we do not like them so well as they relate to us. We have been discussing the end times on Wednesday evenings in recent weeks, and some have expressed certain discomfort with passages like the one above, as well as Matthew 7:21-23, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'”

It has been well-documented that, as a comprehensive church culture, we have become more so a group of consumers (or takers), rather than producers (or givers). To quote a common refrain, “Everyone’s business is nobody’s business” is not a good principle to live by as it relates to the Christian walk for individuals and churches, but it happens all too often. I believe we have come to the point where being challenged, and getting out of our comfort zone is not only not in vogue, it is no longer welcome at all for many believers. We must be what Jesus called us to be – servants in the kingdom of God. We don’t have to preach a sermon or give a lesson…all we have to do is be the hands and feet of Jesus, and share a smile. Some might think that …concerning a service project or difficult ministry situation…“this is not my thing”. Try it! Surprises will be in store, and blessings will be the result. We have to be challenged in order to grow.

Busyness has become an idol (perhaps the predominant idol) in our culture. We are all busy…yet, we have the same 24 hour period as any group of people in history. I truly don’t believe the Lord expects us all to be Mother Teresa…but when we stand before the Lord on judgment day, He is not going to say, “Well, you were awfully busy – terrific.” He is going to ask, “What did you do to prosper the kingdom?” “What did you do to serve?” And, if we say, “Not much, I was too busy.” He might say – “Go take your place with the goats.” Let’s not be as the saying goes – “Most people wish to serve God, but only in an advisory capacity.” Knowing full well that we are saved by grace thorough faith (Ephesians 2:8-9), and our salvation has been paid for and we have responded accordingly, we have an obligation and a responsibility to live like “saved” people. This is indeed the other side of the coin. From time to time over the years, some have expressed concern to me as to whether they “have done enough” as it relates trying to get there…or trying, in essence, to work for their salvation. This is simply not possible. Others have expressed concern over whether they have done enough in working out their salvation. (Philippians 2:12-13) I believe that this is a much more important question to ask. I will offer this in closing…to quote the famous musician, Keith Green -- “The difference between the sheep and the goats is -- what they did and did not do.”

Blessings, Don

This Is How We Learned Christ

Friends,

*(I shared the gist of this message with our folks this morning, but found some funny irony involved in the sharing of it and some communication with me afterwards.  We had many people gone this morning with a variety of activities associated with the end of the school year.  A few folks, noting the message was concerning "putting on the new self" and "accountability," communicated with me saying -- wouldn't that message be better for when most of our folks are here?  Fifteen years ago, I might have had a back-up message to run with, as I would have been intent in "getting my message across."  However, now I better understand that it is God's message, not mine.  He is going to do with it (and all others) what He will do.  So...with all of THAT said, here goes...)

Mark Brunner, from a message entitled “Heavenly Citizens,” shares this -- Make-overs! We are a people obsessed with them these days.  We restore our cars, pump botox into our chins and eyelids, remodel our homes at a record pace and are transfixed by the various shows on television whose story lines are founded on make-overs.  What is this fascination with being made-over?  Some psychologists have suggested that it has everything to do with a deep-seated discontent that rules our lives these days.  We grapple with the aging process that slowly but surely is claiming our youth. Where once we kept a car until it had 150,000 miles, more and more Americans are trading in the old before it even becomes “old.”  We are a people obsessed with reclaiming youth and newness. After all of this effort, can we say that we are getting there? Will the “rebuilding” process necessary to this make-over finally find us content?  A property owner once found a buyer for a warehouse property that had been difficult to sell.  As he showed a prospective buyer the property, the owner took pains to say that he would replace the broken windows, bring in a crew to correct any structural damage, and clean out the garbage.  “Forget about the repairs,” the buyer said. “When I buy this place, I’m going to build something completely different. I don’t want the building; I want the site.”  Compared with the renovation God has in mind, our efforts to improve our own lives are as trivial as sweeping a warehouse slated for the wrecking ball.  When we become God’s, the old life is over (2 Cor. 5:17). He makes all things new. All he wants is the site and the permission to build.  I believe that this why Paul says makes such a big deal out of the message in this passage -- that we who are made new in Christ should have no desire to go back to that which is the old dead wood of our old lives.  When we give our lives over to Jesus Christ, we should commit ourselves to His way and “be (continually) spiritually renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16). 

Paul is straightforward in this section -- as Christians, we are not to imitate the lives of non-Christians around us.  Many people in the world believe they are enlightened because they reject the Word of God and believe the latest philosophies…yet, as Paul says, they are really in the dark (Romans 1:20-23).  We who were once dead in our trespasses and sins should think and behave differently than non-Christians, since we have been raised from the dead and given eternal life…if indeed we have experienced this!  Our whole outlook on things, philosophy of life, is affected when we give our lives to Christ…our values, our goals, our interpretation of life is supposed to change.  Our salvation truly must begin with belief and repentance – a change of mind and a change of heart.  We will cease lying, stealing, or cheating…we will avoid corrupt speech, giving in to anger, worry, envy, strife, and bitterness.  Satan uses these negatives to imprison our spirits and souls so that nothing good would seem to be springing forth.  When it all comes down to it, the fact that we have a relationship with the Lord should positively impact all of our relationships for good…even with those whom we disagree.  People need to see Jesus living in us.  If the world can’t tell that we are Christians, perhaps it is because we have become too much like the world.

Paul tells the Ephesians…and us – this is not how we learned Christ.  Notice that he does not say “learned about Christ,” but “learned Christ.”  It is possible to learn all about Christ and never have salvation in Him.  Our relationship with Jesus should continually whittle away the old self…and continue to bring the renewal to our spirits that we should earnestly desire.  For to learn Christ is to have a personal relationship with Him…knowing Him better day by day.  It is to recognize that He is Lord and allow Him to truly be the Master of our lives.  There are a lot of good folks who “attend church” in this world, but Jesus is not Christ/King, Lord/Ruler of their lives – they, their wants and their habits, are still on the throne of their lives.  Jesus is not some casual relationship as some would have Him to be.  Paul is saying, only when the old life is put away can we walk in the newness of life in Christ.  Our relationship must be based upon new thinking.  We may belong to God’s new creation and be given a new position in it, but we must appropriate it…make it ours.  This takes place through our own personal prayer and Bible study and with the fellowship of the saints.   We must hunger and thirst for relationship with Him…and it needs to begin today!  We must desire relationship with Jesus like it is the only thing that matters…because it really is!  When we do commit our way to Christ, His Spirit makes us better people.  As we learn, grow in Christ, we overcome bad attitudes, poor behaviors…and are replaced with positive fruit.

Just like “make-overs,” accountability is all the rage…not really. :-) Accountability -- We hear it all the time…it tends to be a big management buzz word…but what does it mean? Ac•count•a•ble -- 1. Liable to being called to account; answerable. We talk a lot about being responsible - “The Buck stops here!” etc. But it seems that we sometimes confuse being apologetic with being accountable. As long as “I am sorry” – we think we are accountable, but this is not always the case.  You’re not genuinely accountable until it costs you something to pay for what you have done!  The store sign that says, “You break it, you bought it!” -- That’s accountability. With all of this in mind…every one of us shall give account of him or herself to God. WOW…this is a humbling reality.  We will all have some explaining to do! This should work in us to keep us honest concerning how we conduct our lives.  Ac•count - 1.a. A narrative or record of events. b. A reason given for a particular action.  Someone that understands accountability – understands responsibility, (which requires maturity).  Admiral Rickover: “Unless you can point to a specific person to hold responsible for an action, then you had no one truly responsible.”  There are plenty of opportunities for us to be accountable in our lives…we are accountable to our families, we are accountable to work, and we are accountable to play.  Yet, often, we are not accountable to the Lord or to His body.  I have always found this to be an interesting dilemma…in that so many families think they are being accountable to take care of their kids by making certain that they excel in every athletic, music, academic or work endeavor that they can possibly find for them to do.  But, they neglect the one accountability that matters more than any of the above in the grand scheme of things…and that is accountability to the Lord and to His body.  It is “a-lack-of-accountability” irresponsibility that brings some significant regrets as time goes by. 

This is precisely what Paul means when he talks about our commitment to Christ in putting off the old self and putting on the new.  It may be summer time, but what are we going to do differently in order to improve our relationship with the Lord?  It is important that people be involved, engaged…in short, accountable.  We cannot be coming in and out of focus in relationship to Jesus…we need to be hungering and thirsting for Him.  If Jesus is Lord of our lives, then we need to remove ourselves from the throne of our lives and give Jesus His rightful place.  This is how we were supposed “to learn Christ!”  We need to draw strength from the Lord and from each other through studying together, praying together, and fellowshipping together.  It is what is going to help us, as individuals, as well as the Body prosper and grow. 

Blessings, Don