The Grace that Gives us Life
Mostly Dead
A while back I thought it was time to finally show my kids one of the greatest movies of all time. Some of you already know what movie I’m talking about. It’s largely the undisputed best movie of all time. At least most youth ministers think so. It’s called…
The Princess Bride.
If you’ve seen the movie, there’s a great scene where a man by the name of Iñigo Montoya brings his friend Westley to a guy by the name of Miracle Max because Westley is dead. He’s hoping that Miracle Max can somehow bring him back to life.
Miracle Max takes a look at Westley and tells Iñigo Montoya,
“It just so happens that your friend here is only mostly dead. There’s a big difference between mostly dead and all dead. Mostly dead is slightly alive.”
Slightly Alive
I don’t know about you, but it seems to me that we’re living in a world where most people are mostly dead and only slightly alive.
“Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death.”
Mark Batterson
We’ve tried nearly everything under the sun to remedy this problem but for the most part have come up empty handed.
And this is the problem we’re all trying to solve. We’re all looking for an answer. What would it take for us to be really happy, content, and satisfied? What do we need to do in order to feel fully alive?
There’s a difference between being mostly dead and all dead. Most of us aren’t all dead. But that means we’re only slightly alive. And we’re living our lives as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death.
Generally speaking, the problem we have isn’t a financial problem.
Some of you may know the famous actor Jim Carrey. I love what he once said. “I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it’s not the answer.”
― Jim Carrey
The problem for most of us isn’t a financial problem. Making more money won’t make you feel more alive.
The problem for most of us isn’t a physical problem. Sure, we could all eat better, exercise more, and be in better health. And some of us have serious medical problems. But I’ve known more than one person, and I’ll bet you have too, who was on their death bed but was fully alive.
It’s not a relational problem, a career problem, a family problem, or a… if this was just better I would be better and feel fully alive kind of problem.
The truth is, for most of us, it’s a spiritual problem. And until we address the spiritual problem of being mostly dead and only slightly alive, we’ll never feel fully alive!
A Rich and Satisfying Life
The good news is that God offers all of us, regardless of our economic situation, regardless of our family situation, no matter our challenges or difficulties or life situation, God offers all of us a rich and satisfying life.
Listen again to what Jesus said in John 10.10. We started with these words at the beginning of this series and we have them hanging over the door so it’s the last thing you’ll see when you leave this room each week. Jesus said,
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. – ESV
Another translation says it this way…
The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. – NLT
This is why Jesus came — to give us a RICH and SATISFYING life.
But here’s the question, does that describe your life? Are you living a rich and satisfying life?
If you feel like you’re mostly dead and only slightly alive, it may be because you haven’t FULLY stepped into the life Jesus offers.
Once You Were Dead, Dead
About 30 years after the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, a man by the name of Paul who was a follower of Jesus wrote a letter to the church in the ancient city of Ephesus. This is an important letter for a lot of reasons, but perhaps most of all because Paul teaches these first generation Christians what it means to be FULLY ALIVE..
Listen to what Paul writes: Ephesians 2.1-7:
Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins.
Notice that Paul doesn’t mince words here. He doesn’t say, “You were MOSTLY DEAD.” He says you were dead, dead! Literally lifeless. Without LIFE!
Why were you dead? Because of your disobedience and sins.
This may be the greatest lie you’ve ever been told… that sin makes you bad. That living your life in disobedience to God makes you bad or a bad person.
That’s not true.
The problem with sin is not that it makes you bad, it’s that it makes you spiritually dead!
Obeying the Devil!
Paul tells these early Christians…
You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God.
I don’t know about you, but it feels like Paul just got real!
When I think about sin, especially when I think about my sin, I don’t think about it in terms of OBEYING THE DEVIL.
I don’t think about allowing the COMMANDER OF THE POWER IN THE UNSEEN WORLD WORK IN MY HEART AS I REFUSE TO OBEY GOD!
We tend to downplay the gravity of our sin. Paul does not. He calls it what it is. To SIN is to live in DISOBEDIENCE to God. To OBEY the DEVIL.
THIS IS THE THIEF AND ROBBER JESUS TALKED ABOUT IT JOHN 10.10!
The devil, the thief and the robber, has ONE purpose. To steal, kill, and destroy.
STEAL
The devil wants to STEAL our joy. Our time. Our treasure. Our attention. Our hope. Our love. Our past. Our today. Our tomorrows. The evil one wants to take everything possible from you. He is a thief. A remover of the good gifts God has given you.
Kill
He wants to KILL your marriage. Your friendships. Your relationships. He wants you to feel isolated and alone. He wants to kill your faith. Your desire for God. Your belief in the love of God. He wants any hope you have to die. He is a killer. He wants you to die physically and spiritually. Your death and demise is always on his mind. You have an enemy. He is real and relentless. He has nothing to lose and everything to gain.
Destroy
He wants to DESTROY you. And he does it so often through deception. Watch this and you’ll be happy. Drink this and you’ll fit right in. Do this and you’ll be accepted. He’ll tell you – This is the way, this is the truth, this is the life…. And it’s a lie! It’s all a ploy, a plot for your demise and your destruction!
Everybody Struggles
And here’s what you have to know: Everyone in the world has been deceived. Everyone in the world has believed his lies.
Paul says…
All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.
All of us used to live that way. And when Paul says, “All of us…” here’s what you need to know, he’s including himself in that list. In fact, he would later say that he was the chief of all sinners.
Paul understood the gravity of his sin. He understood how the devil himself had been at work in his heart. And he understood that he wasn’t MOSTLY DEAD… He was DEAD, DEAD.
More to the Story
But He also came to realize that there was more to the story.
If our sin and disobedience was the end of the story, that would not be good news. If it was up to us to keep the rules perfectly, try harder, do better, and get it right, we would all be doomed. But that’s not the good news.
Here’s the good news according to Paul…
But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us LIFE when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus.
So the good news isn’t that we get a second chance. The good news isn’t that we can try harder and win God’s favor. The good news isn’t that there are no consequences or that the punishment we deserve has been removed. The good news isn’t that the enemy has been locked up and can’t harm us any longer.
You may be wondering if there’s any good news! There is!
The good news is that our God is SO RICH in mercy and He loves us SO MUCH that even in our death he can give us new life.
Duck Hunting
A few years ago I got to go on a hunting trip up in Arkansas with some friends. I’m not much of a hunter but I was happy to go spend some quality time with these guys.
We went up to a cabin north of Searcy to go duck hunting. At this point in my life I had never been duck hunting before. Some of you probably have so you know way more about this than I do. We got to the cabin and one of the guys set up some targets I could shoot at to get a little practice in.
I’ve always enjoyed shooting and I’m a pretty good shot, especially when you consider the fact that I’m not a hunter! I was pretty good at hitting stationary cans… shooting moving ducks might be more difficult.
We all went to bed early that night. The plan was to get up super early, before the sun even thought about rising, and get to our duck blind before dawn.
The next morning, it was so cold, so early, I was wondering what in the world I had gotten myself into. We loaded up in our trucks with plenty of coffee, snacks, and ammunition! We drove up to a small creek and loaded everything into a couple of small John Boats.
We made our way down a narrow creek. There was ice and a little bit of snow on the ground and it was still dark.
That creek finally opened up into a small pond and at first I thought we had hit the jack pot. There were ducks everywhere!
Come to find out, those weren’t real ducks. They were decoys! Fake ducks. They looked like ducks but they weren’t ducks. Apparently if you put out a bunch of fake ducks on a body of water the real ducks will think there’s a party going on that they don’t want to miss out on!
We dodged the fake ducks with the boat, get to the duck blind, and unload our stuff. We load our guns, take our places, and get ready.
And then, as the sun starts to rise, we see them. High in the air. Ducks!
Two of the guys with us are world class duck callers and I’m watching in amazement as they work those ducks. They start calling them and those ducks change direction and come right to us.
They hear the fake duck calls, they see the fake ducks, and they come right to the water in front of our duck blind covered with fake trees!
Part of me wants to yell, “It’s a trap! Run for your lives!” But then, the shooting begins!
All of this was created, built, and designed for their death!
Thieves and Robbers
There are thieves and robbers who create, build, and design things for your death.
Our world is filled with decoys that promise a party, a good time, and a good life, but it’s fake.
Listen and you’ll hear the voices calling you to come and join in, you don’t want to miss out, get closer and closer and closer until… boom. Shots are fired and what you find is that what you thought would lead to life actually leads to death.
“The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”
Jesus
Some people might think that DEATH is the most powerful force on earth. After all, what can defeat death? When you’re dead, you’re dead – right?
Unless there’s a power that can defeat death. Is there? There is!
Grace!
GRACE!! The GRACE OF God gave us LIFE when He raised Jesus from the grave. – Ephesians 2.5
The problem isn’t that you were bad and Jesus came to make you better. The problem is that without Jesus, you’re dead. And…
The grace of Jesus gives us Life.
Are you mostly dead and only slightly alive? What would it look like for you to be FULLY ALIVE?
How would a FULLY ALIVE version of you change your life? Your marriage? Your work? Your home? Your friendships? This church?!
Some of you who have already decided to follow Jesus, you’ve been buried with him in baptism and raised to new life know that what you need to do is stop going back to the grave!
The grave is where those things that are dead, those things that were killing you are buried. And for some reason, you’ve gone back to the grave, back to death!
You’ve been deceived again! By the way, that’s what the deceiver does. He deceives you again and again and again.
Some of you haven’t made the decision to be buried with Jesus in baptism so you could be raised to new life. And by the way, if that’s you, you’re not mostly dead, you’re fully dead. But what Jesus is offers you is the chance to become FULLY ALIVE. That happens when you’re raised with Christ into NEW LIFE!
Finish the Sentence
By the way, Ephesians 2.1-7 is all one sentence in the original language. Here’s how Paul finishes that sentence…
So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.
The church is the testimony of God’s grace and kindness.
We are the evidence of God’s grace and kindness.
When we live the LIFE that Jesus offers the world, the world will come to know the LIFE Jesus offers!
May we LIVE the ABUNDANT, OVERFLOWING, RICH and SATISFYING LIFE Jesus gives.
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