From Dead to Alive

Jonathan Barker

Before and After • Sermon • Submitted 3 months ago • Presented 3 months ago

Galatians 2:20

Resurrection

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Transcript

Galatians 2:20a

Tom’s notes

before and after I could talk about comedian said id settle for before, don’t overdo

1 Peter 2:9–10 “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a Holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

4 qualities

shared identity, a people, not group of individuals

Specific identity, hebrews 10 don’t need priest anymore, priest does for you, pastor does with you, holy people should have holy encounters, 1 cor 6 not your own

mercy based identity, value not based on jump speed performance, God sets your value. You can’t make someone not love you.

worthy vs deserving distinction. Cant say I’m not worthy, can say I’m not deserving, but our worth never changes. You are worth the blood of Jesus, and you don’t get a vote.

the church is offered to the father by his one and only son, so God gets to set our worth, because we are gift from His son.

Purpose driven identity, proclaim the excellencies, no provision for leaning on chair during worship. There are sinners and noisers. Both need to be engaged.

Raising hands, 1433 times in Bible. Ps 47:12 clap, timothy lift up holy hands

wont cause i’ll do it wrong, what others will thing, IF PRIDE CONTROLS WORSHIP IT WILL CONTROL EVERYTHING… When I discover pride I repent, when I repent of pride I start small.

I thought it was weird then I read the scripture… How many things did you think weird, but then I read the scripture. (Me, dead and alive think each other weird)

What heaven are you going to? Bible says eat, recognize each other, going to do something, going to be worship in heaven, there’s going to be a lot if it, and it’s going to be loud. Revelation 14,19:6-7, thunder, roars, shouting, revelation 5:11,12, angels to millions nth, outdoor voices, saying worthy is lamb. Worship privilege of new identity.

2 voices… God family, devil not belong, God says value, d says trash, God says infinite worth, d says not even God loves you, God love and worship, d says you can’t sing, your worship is worthless. Who will you believe?

Need intro tying back to last week plus sermon…

Need to integrate weekly communion, just til easter for now

Need to integrate membership cards

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.

Illustration after text: How can someone who is alive be declared dead? It’s impossible, right?

Judge tells living man that he’s still legally dead.

An Ohio man couldn't convince the court to overturn his legal death ruling (AFP) Life can be tough, especially when a judge says you’re dead in the eyes of the law. That’s exactly what happened to Ohio resident Donald Eugene Miller Jr. on Monday when a judge upheld a 1994 court ruling declaring the 61-year-old legally dead. The Courier reports that 19 years ago, a court in Hancock County declared Miller legally dead eight years after he disappeared from his rental home. As a result, Miller has lost his Social Security number and his driver’s license.

Judge Allan Davis called it a "strange, strange situation," but he also said the court cannot budge in its decision. "We've got the obvious here,” Davis said. “A man sitting in the courtroom, he appears to be in good health.” Each state can make its own laws regarding declaring someone legally dead. Most generally rely on a similar set of criteria: that someone is missing and presumed dead if they can't be located for at least seven years, the absence has been continuous and a genuine effort has been made to locate the person.

Despite Miller’s efforts to come clean with the court, Davis said there is a three-year legal limit for reversing a death ruling. However, Miller said he wasn’t even aware of his legal “death” until his parents told him about it when he finally returned to Ohio in 2005. The judge made his decision and he wasn’t changing his mind. Though he appeared to be living in the flesh, he was pronounced dead.

Introduction: Paul said that he had been crucified with Christ. Because we understand that Paul did not mean this in the literal sense, we must consider what Paul was trying to communicate as he associated himself with the death of Jesus. In order to gain the proper perspective of Paul’s writing here, we must consider what he meant when he referred to himself. He certainly did not make this statement to imply that he was there to observe Jesus’ death, and from the rest of Paul’s writing we can understand that he was not speaking as though he was empathizing with his pain. Rather, when Paul refers to sharing in Christ’s crucifixion in this verse, he is speaking of all that Jesus died to overcome in His work on the cross. Paul’s intelligence, his rationale, his ambition, his pride, his social status, his previous ministry, and all of his desires were all aspects of him that had to be crucified in order for Paul to have a new life in Christ. You might ask me how I know that these are the ideas that Paul had to give up, we can see in Philippians 3 that Paul listed all of these very ideas as worthless for the cause of Christ.

I. I Have Died Paul said that he had died. In this verse Paul is calling for the church at Galatia to be like him and let their old self be crucified to Christ.

A. Crucified So what is crucifixion? Let’s start by answering this question in a physical sense. The cross was the most torturous way that the Roman’s executed a criminal. Crucifixion was a violent death. In most cases it was not a long, drawn out process; it was extremely violent and agonizingly quick. Beyond enduring the greatest physical torment known to man, Jesus was also caused to hang between two common criminals. Everything about this death was nothing short of completely humiliating and degrading. Just to bring this thought home a little bit, there was not “fellowship time” following a crucifixion. There was no casual conversation and small talk discussing how we liked the music or where we were going for lunch. No one sent flowers. There was no potluck dinner.

1. Our Own Crucifixion Paul chose to use the most horrific experience of his day to make his point. And, it seems, it is at this point where we have the most difficulty. It is a humiliating fact for us to admit that this very experience, this crucifixion, is what is needed in our own hearts. It is a difficult thing to admit that there is a criminal in each of us that ultimately deserves to die. So, who is this criminal, what is within us that requires such extreme measures?

2. The Old Man Paul calls this person the old man, but this idea might not be as clear to some as it is to others. Perhaps the only reason that Paul is able to make reference to the old man is because, as he writes to the church in Corinth, if any man be in Christ then he is a new creature. It only makes sense that it is difficult to call an idea old until you have something new with which to compare it.

Jonathan, we get it. Before we started coming to church and doing Jesus things we were sinners, and now that we said the sinner’s prayer and hang out with church people, we have new life in Christ. Not so much. You see I think the very fact that Paul has to articulate this point of death and life in the Christian community is because he was seeing a very marginal level of Christianity taking place.

3. (Crucifixion) It is not simply changing your mind. Someone has said that if you can change your mind once, you can change it back again. I have noted in my general sphere of influence that people try to correlate Christianity with a certain moral standard or perhaps a “growing up” moment. They have come to a point where they realize that not falling over in drunkenness is probably a wise thing to do. Or maybe they come to the understanding that sleeping with different people from month to month is not the best decision for their social life. Smoking might give you lung cancer, so if you decide to give it up, then good for you. I’m certainly not trying to discourage an increase in morality or a desire to take better care of yourself but people have made Christianity out to be too much of a list of do’s and don’ts and many times take their place comfortably in the middle of the line to get to heaven and never move from there.

This is truly a miserable existence. I can’t imagine going to bed each night just weighing out the good and the bad that I did that day and hoping that I did a little better than the day before. Paul wanted the people to understand that true joy came from a life that was fully alive in Christ and fully dead to their old way of living. So What does it mean to be crucified with Christ?

B. Attributes of a dead person – I thought that I would take a little bit of a unique approach to what it might mean to be crucified in Christ. Let’s start be considering the attributes of a dead person. You might think this is a little silly but I think it makes perfect sense for us to understand Spiritual principles with physical examples.

1. Dead people can’t talk – One of my golfing buddies in Ohio is a mortician. I hope everyone understands what I say when I say that it takes a special person to do this job. My friend’s name is Chuck, and believe it or not, Chuck has an interesting sense of humor. I was playing golf one day with Chuck, and as I have a tendency to do, I proceeded to become overly talkative. Realizing that I was rambling on, I stopped myself and apologized for talking so much. He replied, Oh, that’s ok, it’s a nice change of pace, the people I work with are pretty quiet. Sometimes we want to write off a preacher or teacher for stating the obvious, but how often do we simply receive the physical things yet ignore them in the spiritual sense. While I can’t go through the whole list of things dead people can’t do, I thought I would mention a few. They can’t talk. But just because you stop swearing and telling dirty jokes, still doesn’t mean that a lot of sin doesn’t proceed from your mouth. Gossip, discord, and disagreements in the church are far more harmful quite frankly than someone using profanity.

2. Dead people can’t make decisions – Some of you might know people that are so bossy that you might wonder if they won’t be able to make decisions from the grave. But seriously, how ridiculous is it that our old man continues to make decisions about where we go, who we hang out with, how we dress, and how we treat other people, when we are supposed to be new creatures in Christ Jesus.

3. Dead people have no fellowship – If you are dead to your old life, then you cannot continue to carry on fellowshipping with those things of the world that were holding you down. I mentioned last week that one of the greatest difficulties that people have in coming to Christ is how many relationships have to be severed from the past life. Now, just to make a point of clarification, I can hear some of you thinking right now about how Jesus hung out with the sinners. Jesus hung out with the 12 disciples; he went to witness to the unbelievers. II Corinthians 6:14 says to not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. Whether you know it or not, that verse is not just a verse about getting married, but anyone that you might keep company with. We could go on and on about things dead people can or can’t do, but I think I have made my point. Every part of our old being must undergo a transformation process that leaves us fully submitting to the will of the Father

II. I am now alive in Christ and Christ is alive in me – What does that mean?

A. You are alive in Christ - Ephesians 2 (THE MESSAGE) tells us, 2 1-6 It wasn’t so long ago that you were mired in that old stagnant life of sin. You let the world, which doesn’t know the first thing about living, tell you how to live. You filled your lungs with polluted unbelief, and then exhaled disobedience. We all did it, all of us doing what we felt like doing, when we felt like doing it, all of us in the same boat. It’s a wonder God didn’t lose his temper and do away with the whole lot of us. Instead, immense in mercy and with an incredible love, he embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. 1. Supernaturally Resurrected Being alive in Christ today means that you were supernaturally resurrected. You weren’t on life support and woke back up. You didn’t cut yourself and need a band aid. You didn’t break your leg and need a surgery. The only cure for death is resurrection, and when you are resurrected in Christ he gives you a new life that is void of all of the previous attitudes, ambitions, and anxieties of your previous life.

2. Lazarus Consider the life of Lazarus for a moment if you will for a moment. Tell the story up to after he was resurrected. I have probably read this story a hundred times, but I was reading it this week and something made me smile a little bit. In John 12:10-11 it reads, “The chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death also; because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and were believing in Jesus.” Now it would be easy enough to preach a whole sermon on this story but let’s key in on a couple of key points. What good is a death threat to a man who overcame death? If you have been resurrected into new life in Christ how can any fear or anxiety of the unknown have an effect on you? In verse 12, the Bible says that people were following Jesus because of Lazarus’ resurrection? How many believe on Jesus today because of your testimony? A new life in Christ should be just as noticeable as if you bought a new car, a new house, or if you are wearing a new outfit. Hopefully we talk more about our new life in Christ than any of the new material items which we can afford.

B. He lives in you– We are not only alive in Christ, but Christ lives in us.

How do i know? 2 big surprises 1 John 3:13–14 “Do not be surprised, brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers and sisters. The one who does not love remains in death.” Surprise 1 the world hates you, surprise 2 you love them…

III. Why do we struggle

A. We make provisions But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.

Romans 13:14 The Late Adrian Rogers says that one of his favorite stories is about a father who leaves his son at home one Saturday afternoon because his son isn’t feeling well. He tells his son, “Don’t go swimming with your buddies.” The son says, “Yes sir!” The dad returns by way of the swimming hole and notices his son frolicking with the other boys. He stops the car, calls his son over and says, “I told you not to go swimming.” “But I didn’t intend to go swimming. I just came down to watch, and I fell in,” the boy said. The dad began feeling sorry for his son until he noticed he had his bathing suit on! The son explained, “I brought that along…in case I was tempted.” EXPOUND

B. We are prideful – Watchman Nee, Normal Christian Life, p29. We try to be humble, but there is something in our very being that refuses to be humble. We try to be loving, but inside we feel most unloving. We smile and try to look very gracious, but inwardly we feel decidedly ungracious. The more we try to rectify matters on the outside the more we realize how deep-seated the trouble is. Then we come to the Lord and say, “Lord, I see it now! Not only what I have done is wrong; I am wrong.” Then we can begin to realize a third struggle that we have and that is the struggle of turning over ownership of our lives.

C. We do not turn over ownership of our lives – Watchman Nee, Normal Christian Life, p144. The difference between victorious Christians and defeated one is not that some have the Spirit while others have not, but that some know his indwelling and others do not, and that consequently some recognize the divine ownership of their lives while others are still their own masters.

In essence those who do not turn over ownership of their lives stop the process of Christ’s redemptive work at the cross instead of allowing it to be complete in the resurrection. Too often people work to get rid of all the bad in their life, and think that by methodically ceasing from each sin that they will achieve life in Christ. In Romans 5:10 Paul said, If we are reconciled by His death, how much more will we be saved by His life. We don’t want to stop the work of Christ on the cross, but we want to continue into the resurrection life.

Conclude: Altar Call: Spirit of the Living God or Jesus Paid it All

The work is complete, but the work continues, and the choice is yours

A. It is a complete work Aorist past completed, every from of the word crucifixion in the New Testament is in the Greek Aorist Tense, I’m not going to give a Greek lesson today but there is something here of great importance. The Greek Aorist form of verb is the past completed tense. So anytime we see this tense we could imply the idea of once and for all. When we consider this usage of the word in our passage we could then read, “My fleshly desires and worldly agendas have been crucified once and for all, it is completed, and cannot be brought back up, and it is eternally gone. Just like the judge in our opening illustration, though others could see that the man was still living in the physical sense, he had been declared dead. When God, the highest authority declares you dead in the flesh, though others may be able to see you with their physical eyes, the decision is final, you can longer be who you were once before.

B. It is a continuous work – In 1 Corinthians 15 Paul said I die daily. This was a realization of Paul’s that each day we must start by leaving our flesh in the grave and choose to walk in newness in life.

C. It is a choice – In John 10:17-18 Jesus says For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative.

God is not going to force you to make a decision, but instead He invites you to participate in the power of cross with Him. If you come today and make a choice to crucify sin and the flesh that always causes us to stumble, you can then receive a new life in Christ.

Need to integrate John 5:24–29 ““Truly, truly, I say to you, the one who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. “Truly, truly, I say to you, a time is coming and even now has arrived, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For just as the Father has life in Himself, so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. Do not be amazed at this; for a time is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come out: those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the bad deeds to a resurrection of judgment.” RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD VS RESURRECTION OF THE LIVING

Salvation?

Complete Surrender?

Trying it on your own?