The Living Dead

Are you dead?  No really, it isn’t a trick question.  Are you dead?  If you are a follower of Jesus Christ trusting Him to forgive all your sins and give you eternal life your answer to that question may surprise you.  I think if we asked the apostle Paul if he was dead he would say yes and no…(well, I guess now he would say just yes…or actually he would probably say yes and no but for different reasons…hmmm, never mindJ)  What about you though?  Are you dead?  Let’s look at what Paul wrote in the short book of Colossians where he is encouraging Christians and challenging them to live out the faith that they have.

 Colossians 3:1-4, 12-17

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  ²Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. ³ For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

¹² Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, ¹³ bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. ¹⁴ And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. ¹⁵ And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. ¹⁶ Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. ¹⁷ And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Things to think about:

·      There is something that happens when you place your faith in Jesus Christ.  You die!  You die with Christ on the cross and you are raised with Him to new life!  Wow, stop and think about what that means for a moment…really stop reading and think about it.
·      The statement the Paul makes is this; Since you have been raised to new life – LIVE IT! 
·      Set your mind on things above – when you think about things during your day, do you think about eternal things or earthly things?  Do you live as if you were dead?  Or do you live as if your faith in Christ has had no impact on your life?
·      Read verses 12-17 again and think about how you can live that way in your real life.  Who do you need to forgive?  How can you show patience?  How can you show humility?  How do you love? 
·      Look at verse 17 again…is that really possible?  Can only perfect people live this way?  Maybe, but just because it is an unachievable goal does that mean we should never try?

From Death to Life - The Ripple Effect

Have you ever heard of the ripple effect?   When you throw a big rock into a pond and there is a huge splash, but then beyond the splash ripples go out and cover the whole pond causing plants and moss on the other side of the pond to move.  There is a chain reaction whereby everything is affected by that one rock.  Jesus is the rock that caused a ripple effect around the world.  Let’s read the account of Christ’s death from the gospel of Matthew to see what I mean.

Matthew 27:45-54

⁴⁵ Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. ⁴⁶ And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” ⁴⁷ And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” ⁴⁸ And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. ⁴⁹ But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” ⁵⁰ And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.

⁵¹ And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. ⁵² The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, ⁵³ and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. ⁵⁴ When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

Things to think about:

·      Notice the ripple effect on the world at Christ’s death: 

• There is darkness for three hours!
• The curtain that separated the Holy of Holies from the people was torn signifying our freedom to now access God through Jesus Christ.
• There was a huge earthquake and rocks were split open.
•  Dead people were raised to life.

·      These ripples were so powerful that the Roman soldiers that nailed Jesus to the cross were filled with awe and believed!
·      It is as if Heaven and Earth knew what was happening and the power of Jesus on the cross spilled over so that the sun went dark, the earth shook, and death itself lost its grip. 
·      Jesus Christ died on the cross being punished as sin itself.  God the Father turned his back on the Son and the fully force of the Father’s wrath was poured out on Jesus.  An eternities worth of Hell stored up for you and I was experienced by Jesus Christ on that cross.  The enormity of that event sent ripples throughout the world.
·      I know that I have a lot of questions about the effects of Jesus’ death, especially about those dead bodies that came to life.  Who were they?  Did they rise from the dead only to die again later?  Did they ascend to heaven with Jesus?  Did they come and testify about Jesus and then go back to their graves?  After doing some research and thinking about it here is what I have discovered.  I don’t knowJ  But, I don’t think we are supposed to know.  Matthew is the only gospel that mentions this event of dead bodies and it is never brought up again in scripture.  The point is that Jesus defeated death!  What happened to these specific people doesn’t really matter to us.  What matters is the rock, not the ripple.  Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins!  He paid your price!  He suffered for you!  He defeated death so that you may live!  The soldiers believed, do you?

You Hypocrite!

My online dictionary defines hypocrite as – “a person who pretends to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that he or she does not actually possess, especially a person whose actions belie stated beliefs.”  Basically, a hypocrite is a person that says a lot of stuff, but in reality they don’t do a lot of it.  The other day I was thinking about my time as a youth pastor and all the lessons I have taught over the years.  I checked my file folder on my computer marked “Old Lessons” and there are too many to count.  So, I did a little rough math.  I have been teaching/preaching for 9 years here at Overland Hills Church.  On average I teach about 5 separate lessons every week.  Chapel for the childcare and preschool, Sunday school, youth group for Jr. and Sr. High, Bible studies, AWANA, sermons, small group, special events, etc.  If I work 50 weeks out of the year for 9 years at 5 lessons a week I have taught 2,250 completely separate lessons!  I open my mouth a LOT!  It hit me the other day…I must be the world’s biggest hypocrite.  Could you imagine what life would be like if I listened to all of my own lessons?  What if I completely obeyed half of the 2,250 lessons I have taught?  It would be like the Pope and Mother Theresa and Billy Graham having a freakish miracle baby and I was that perfect baby…okay that sounds weird, but you know what I meanJ  I wonder what Jesus would say to me as one that represents him to the world?  Here is what he said to a different group of hypocrites back in His day.

 Matthew 23:1-12

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, ² “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat, ³ so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do.  For they preach, but do not practice. ⁴ They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. ⁵They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, ⁶ and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues ⁷ and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others. ⁸ But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. ⁹ And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. ¹⁰ Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. ¹¹ The greatest among you shall be your servant. ¹² Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

 It has always been interesting to me that Jesus loved hanging out with sinner; tax collectors, prostitutes, the unwanted people…but he always had a harsh word to say to the Pharisees and scribes.  The Pharisees thought they were good enough for God, the sinners recognized that they needed Jesus.  That is where I need to be, that is where you need to be!  Whether you talk a lot like I do or don’t say anything are you in a place where you know you are a sinner and can not save yourself?  Do you see your need for Jesus?  I do!  I rejoice with Paul when he says in Romans 7:24-25 “Wretched man that I am!  Who will deliver me from this body of death?  Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”  Jesus loves me and you even in our brokenness and hypocrisy!