Because He Lives (Chapel)
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Because He Lives
John 14:15-19
What a blessing it is to be able to come to Chapel every morning and sing praises to God. Colossians 3:16 tells us..
Colossians 3:16 (KJV 1900)
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
Singing is not only how we are to praise God, but it also a way for us to teach and admonish one another.
Songs that we sing oftentimes have very pertinent meanings and lessons built within them that we can use to apply to our lives as christians.
The song I want us to focus on today is the song, “Because He Lives”.
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow
Because He lives, all Fear is gone
Because I know He holds the future
And life is worth the living just because He lives.
If you have your Bibles, turn with me to John 14:15-19.
What a thought Christ gives to the Apostles and what a comfort it was to them.
These words by Christ can also be a great comfort to us.
because Christ lives
We have peace
We have Hope
We have purpose
As we dig into this study this morning, I encourage you to reflect on these words and think about how truly blessed we are as Christians to know that Christ lives, and He lives in us (Galatians 2:20).
Peace
We all have fears do we not? We all have doubts and questions about our lives. Maybe we are thinking about our next big career move, or we are concerned about a test result, or just concerned about the future in general. This is really just human nature. There is something about the unknown that petrifies us. But, if we allow this fear to consume our lives, then it can be difficult to fulfil our duties to God.
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
We ought to be placing our cares, our burdens, and our worries on God through prayer. When we do this, it makes the unknown aspects of life easier to overcome. This peace of God that passes all understanding will keep us steady. It will keep us true, and it will keep us level headed. This is but one of the amazing attributes of God. Paul is trying to convey to us that we should allow God to be our peace. We should seek Him out in prayer, in study, and in every day life.
God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.
Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed,
And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled,
Though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.
Our God is the God of the mountain tops and the God of the valleys. No matter our situation in life, we can always look to Him for peace and comfort.
In times when we need peace and encouragement, let us go to the God of refuge and strength. Let us go to Him that loves us, and gave us His Word as our guide.
In a world full of uncertainty, we can be certain that our God is the God of peace, and He offers that same peace to His children.
Hope
Because Christ Lives, we have hope that will allow us to face each and every day. What is this hope that we have? Where does it come from and what does it mean to you and me? Let’s look together at Ephesians 1:17-18
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
How do we handle every day? How is it that we can continue to press onward and face the struggles of tomorrow? There is so much evil going on all around the world every day. This can truly cause us to question ourselves, our mission, and our faith. There is one thing that we have as children of God that no one else has. That is Hope of an eternal home with God. The hope of salvation. To know that one day, all the struggles, all the heartaches, and all the pain will be worth it. Without hope, how can we face tomorrow?
Knowing that one day we will be in Heaven with Him ought to give us joy and should help us push through the tough times. There will always be times of trial, times of pain, and times where you sit there wondering to yourself, “Why me?”. But the hope that we have because Christ lives, gives us an answer. I love how Peter describes it in 1 Peter 1:3. He calls it a “living hope”. Brothers and sisters, this hope that is in us is alive. This hope will not fade away, it will not decrease in value, it cannot be taken from us.
It is a hope given to us directly by God through the obedience of His Word. Hope is not something everyone has. It is not something everyone will obtain. Unfortunately, there are people in this world that will turn away the hope of salvation. The only way to capture it is by obeying God. There are things that we need to give up in order to obey God. When we obey the gospel, we make a promise to God to live for Him, love Him, and spread His gospel. That means giving up those sinful things we did before. That means giving up certain relationships we had before. That means transforming ourselves by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2). The living hope inside ourselves has a cost, and that cost was paid for by the blood of Christ because of the mercy and Grace of God the Father. When we do the things necessary to obtain salvation our living hope is in Christ. The real expectation that we will have a home with Him in heaven if we are found faithful.
What does hope mean to us? It means everything to us. The knowledge and security knowing there is something better to come. That there is a reward awaiting us if we are found faithful to Christ and obedient to the Word of God. When we think about facing the troubles and the cares of the world, let us remember the living hope that is in us. The hope of an eternity with God.
Purpose
Because He lives, we have purpose. That is a pretty big word isn’t it? Maybe not grammatically, but it is big in the meaning behind it. As human beings, when we come into this world, we try to find one singular thing. We try to find our purpose. Some of us look to our jobs, our family, and our hobbies to fulfill that purpose. The mistake we make, even sometimes as Christians, is that we are making it about us. What is MY purpose, why am I here?
Let’s read Romans 8:27-28
And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Maybe, just maybe it is not about us. Maybe it is not about finding your own purpose or my own purpose. It is about God’s purpose. Colossians 3:17
And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
Why are we supposed to do everything in the name of Jesus? It has nothing to do with us, but everything to do with Christ. All the glory and honor goes to God.
God’s purpose is to save all those who will obey Him and we must shine our lights like we read about in Matthew 5:16. Everything we do and everything we say needs to point others to God.
Preaching and teaching others is the life that we all have chosen. A life ministering to others, and doing the will of God.
We work, teach, study, love, and minister to others, not for someone to give us honor. Not for someone to say, “Look at how great Logan is!”.
But for someone to see the love of the Father through us, and to say, “Look at how great God is!”. For someone to see the power of the Gospel, and for that person to see that hope that is in us.
Brothers, we work to save souls. That is our “One Mission” as brother Robert Whitacre would tell us.
But, what is the problem sometimes?
In the Church as a whole, we get so caught up in our temporary lives that we forget about our spiritual lives. We get hung up in the world telling us that we need to have a certain amount of money, a nice car, a big house, and all these material things to truly be successful. When we get wrapped up in all these temporal objects and ideals, we are falling right into Satan’s trap. We feel like we have to keep up with the family down the street and we are willing to sacrifice whatever it takes to be just like everyone else. If we are not careful, we substitute these material things for our purpose. Slowly but surely, spiritual matters become less and less important to us. And then all of a sudden, we have abandoned our faith for a false sense of happiness and security. We have given up our eternity for things that are not eternal.
What is your purpose? The good preacher in Ecclesiastes 12:13 tells us exactly what our purpose is… “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man “.
Because Christ Lives, we have this purpose. The purpose to follow Christ. To spread His love and His gospel all around the world. This is our duty, our privilege, it is our lives as Christians.
How great is God that He gives us our purpose? How great is He that He allows us to have the answers of life through His Word? How Great is God that He gives us hope of salvation through His Son? How great is God that he gives us Peace knowing there is a home in heaven waiting for us?
Friends, with Christ we no longer have to wonder what our purpose is. We no longer have to worry about what our identity is. He gives us a reason to smile and a reason to sing and a reason to be joyful. He gives us a reason to continue on when things are tough. He is the reason we have the hope of eternal life with the Father in heaven. We have the answer to life right in front of us. What will we do with it? Will we ignore it and ignore our purpose? Or will we act upon it, and begin to fulfill God’s purpose for us?
We have but one mission, friends. To save souls. Are we willing to do what is necessary to bring souls to Christ? Or are we only looking to glorify ourselves?
“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man “.