Today's bible reading caused me to stop, meditate and breathe just a little. For it speaks of the call we have on our lives to be worshippers and of life that is available to us in Christ. It also speaks of the assurance we have of the life to come - with power and resurrection due to the power of Jesus Christ. As some of you may know, in the last couple of weeks I have found myself preaching the funerals of four people. From a 19 year old young man who was gunned down in a violent act, to an 81 year old saint who just five months before his passing said 'YES' to Jesus and was baptized here at LFC, to a 92 year old women who knew God and valued His word (the bible) to a 25 year old young man who simply died too young. God's word is what brought us comfort and the scripture from I Corinthians 15 is one I read at each service.
SCRIPTURES
Psalm 149: 1
Praise the LORD. Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise in the assembly of the saints.
And our worship is not to be mindless as we are to carry our TWO-EDGED sword in our hand. With our hearts and our mouths we praise the Lord and with our lives we give Him glory - but with our hands (figurative) we carry the word of God and it's truth that flow from our hearts.
Psalm 149: 6
May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands,
I Corinthians 15:
50I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." 55"Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" 56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
OBSERVATION:
Worship is a great part of Warfare and combined with the Word we are destined to win.
Worship + Word + Working them both out in the fabric of our lives = Victory.
As the Apostle Paul tells us (I Corinthians 15: 58) to always give ourselves 'fully' to the work of the Lord. We have this reminder, much like the questions of Nicodemus in John 3 - How can I be born again? How can I climb back into my Mother's womb? He was, like so many wondering if new life - salvation can somehow come to our flesh by our flesh? Can we become born again by works? But Paul makes it clear that the perishable must cloth itself with the imperishable and the mortal with immorality. We all place so much stock in what we see and feel. And something inside of us seems to meet the news of death with disbelief. We almost always say: 'It can't be?" and of course when you are the parents of a 19 year old or 25 year old these responses are expected. Yet, I hear them in regards to 80, 90 and even those 100. Really? Are you sure? They have passed away? But according to our faith and trust in Jesus and our hope in His word, they have not passed away into 'nothingness.' They have just moved - changed zip codes and are alive in the power of the victory of Jesus over death, sin and the grave itself. Paul seems to taunt death as he speaks to it: "Where death is your victory? Where death, is your sting?" But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through Jesus Christ.
APPLICATION:
The victory is not in our flesh or our workings but in the life of Jesus. Death has been swallowed up in victory. We have a reason to praise the Lord and the sword we carry (the word of God) reminds us of the ultimate victory. While death seems mysterious to us we can rest assured that with the Lord there are no mis-cues and no matter how someone dies - the Lord is right there to greet them. I often hear how the Lord took someone home - 'God needed him so he took him.' I often say at funerals, 'I don't want to serve a God who needs us to run heaven." I think God is highly capable on his own. And while God does not end the lives of 4 year olds or 19 year olds or 25 year olds - He does take them to Himself as their death (however it came) ended their life. Jesus provides those who believe with life more abundant now and eternal now and tomorrow and for all time. Embrace the truth of life in Jesus and the power of resurrection. May you all live long and prosper - but when your day comes and your life on this earth is done, may you glory in the victory that is yours in Jesus Christ. Thanks be to God!
1 comment:
Dear Pastor B,
Thanks for your comments on 1 Corinthians 15. I have 1 Cor 15:58
posted on the inside of my locker at work. It inspires me to know if I give myself fully to the work of the Lord, my labor will not be in vain, even if at times it seems like it. I am reminded, however, by your question, "Can we become born again [or saved] by works?" that we are not saved by our works. I think we should work because we are saved, and to save others, but we are saved by our belief in Jesus. I will still get inspiration from that passage, but it's also good to know that if I take a day off, I'll still be saved.
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