Grab Your Seat
Notes
Transcript
Continuing On
Continuing On
This morning we continue with our 2020 theme of “Come to the Table”
An invitation from our Lord and Savior to be a part of Him and the Work of His Kingdom.
We find this invitation or rather the reason for it in our theme verses of
14 When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him.
15 Then He said to them, “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer;
Jesus desires to spend time with us.
In fact he says, he fervently desires this time with us.
The table that he invites us to here is the table of remembrance. The passover meal and the communion table.
The table that demonstrates Friendship, as we become friends of God who get to partake in him and through him we experience all that he has for us.
The table of commitment, He to us first and then when we realize his love for us, us to him.
The Kingdom table.
A sign of the Kingdom that Christ has enabled us to live in.
We come to it through the self searching of our hearts.
The willingness to allow Christ to change us
And the experiencing of the joy of knowing the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
The table of victory
Where the struggling to be something and someone finally comes to an end.
This is the table of belonging
The table of being known
And the table of security.
This is where we get to sit back and enjoy the presence of God
The table of worship and bringing glory to God
And then last week, we opened that up a little bit wider as we looked at the three verbs that we get to experience at this table.
Adoration - this is that worship. It’s recognizing who Jesus is and allowing his love to touch our lives
It’s where we can take our focus off of the trivial things of this world, to look at and focus on what is important. Jesus
Song - Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of glory and grace.
Accessing - Taking advantage of what he has come to give us.
coming into his presence
Spending time with the very creator of the universe.
Using his authority to pray and speak to situations on this earth
Abiding- Living in a way that keeps us connected to Him
or as we said last week - sitting and spending some time with him.
This morning I want to look at the same verses in Ephesians, but with a little different focus.
I don’t want to look at the table as much as I want you to see where we sit.
1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,
2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,
3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
and let’s focus on verses 5 and 6 this morning.
5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
Listen to how the message paraphrase says it
He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on his own, with no help from us! Then he picked us up and set us down in the highest heaven in company with Jesus, our messiah.
Our Union With Christ!
Our Union With Christ!
One of the things that I’ve been showing you each week is that as we accept his invitation to sit with him. That is very much what we are doing - SITTING WITH JESUS!
Verse 6 uses those very words - And made us sit together
Now keep in mind for this message this morning that one of my main points has constantly been that we are partakers in and with Christ.
That means that there is a union with him
A relationship. A coming together. A kindred spirit.
And that’s what I want to look at this morning....Our union with Christ.
In these two verses, I see three togethers that we share with him.
Three things that bring a greater understanding to what he has invited us to
And what he has made us a part of.
Things much bigger than us and this world that we live in
Things that will encourage us and cause us to look at a much bigger picture this morning.
First, we sit together in His Resurrection
We Are Seated Together With Him In His Resurrection!
We Are Seated Together With Him In His Resurrection!
Paul says in verse 5 that he made us alive together with Christ.
We are united with Jesus in his resurrection.
This scripture says that we were dead in our trespasses and sins
says it like this
13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,
He has made us alive. How many know that’s better than being dead? AMEN
Dead is Hopeless
Inanimate
disabled
defeated
and decaying
That is our life
our dreams
Our vision and hopes
our future and eternity
our dreams and abilities.
And this is who we were. Everyone of us
This is the state that mankind has fallen into
Sin rules us. The flesh rules us. Our lusts rule us
And mankind had no hope.
But God sent his only begotten son. And whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
Life is Hope
Life is moving
Life speaks of ability
Life speaks of victory
and instead of decay, it is progression and strengthening
We have been seated with Christ in his resurrection.
When Jesus rose from the grave, he enabled all who follow him to do the same.
Not only will our bodies resurrect one day.
For this is more than just a resurrection of the body.
This is a spiritual existence
But right now, through the power of His Holy Spirit, he has brought life to our
hopes and dreams
Our visions and future hopes for life
our abilities
our purpose.
All because we are seated with Jesus in Heavenly places.
in verse 5 there the word alive is the greek word suzoopoieo (sood-zo-op-oy-eh-o)
it means to quicken together with or make one alive together with
It speaks of all Christians with Christ.
It’s what we’ve been speaking about. He calls us to the table so that we can be partakers with him
Here, partakers of his resurrection.
Jesus is calling us here, in his resurrection to know the joy of really living
This is a spiritual existence.
To be alive. Much like one at the top of a mountain, or experiencing something new and exciting for the very first time.
People ask me why I ride when it’s so dangerous
Because there is nothing like it. It is total freedom. The smells and the change in temps and the environment. It’s truly amazing.
1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.
Colossians
It’s like what we spoke about last week - Seek Jesus.
and it leads us into our second point
Secondly, We sit together with Jesus in his Ascension
We Are Seated Together With Him In His Ascension!
We Are Seated Together With Him In His Ascension!
as our first point spoke to our flesh being raised up, this one speaks to our spirit being raised up.
We were created for communion with God
When Adam and Eve fell, that communion was broken off. Sin cannot be in the presence of the pure and sinless God.
So this word raised up has to do with both, the raising up from the dead
And the raising up to take our position with God.
So in this being seated together with him in his ascension, we see that we are lifted back up to our place with him.
He is the Lord, He is the King, He is the Son of God seated at the right hand of God
But we are lifted with him, into heavenly places (Not away from) but above these earthly situations and issues.
We are still affected by these things, aren’t we?
But we have the ability to live above them.
Through our place in Christ, to experience God’s help in them
His presence through them
His Word on how to deal with them.
Paul, who I believe is the writer of the book of Hebrews says in
9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.
Jesus was made lower than the angels - he became a man and walked and lived on this earth to die for man.
and through that death and resurrection was crowned with glory and honor (we could say lifted)
So that he would take the death of everyone. That’s you and me.
So these things that once meant death and discouragement to us, no longer have that effect on us.
no longer have that effect.
yes, they hurt
and yes they may leave their mark upon us,
but in the end we have the victory.
Job said it this way
11 He sets on high those who are lowly, And those who mourn are lifted to safety.
That we are raised with Christ, speaks about the authority that he gives to us.
He is seated at the right hand of God and we are lifted up with him.
It speaks of the power that he has given to us
That place of prominence in the eyes of God.
The promise of God’s power in and over our lives
The fulfillment of God’s Word in our situations and circumstances
It’s better than “Calgon Take Us Away!
It’s Jesus cause us to live above these things. ***Notice I’m not saying we get out of these things.***
When hurt and pain come, give us the ability and strength to push through
When situations don’t go as planned, give us your strategy to make it
A faith that is alive and vibrant, because we are seeing you across the table from us
All because we are raised with Christ.
And these thoughts just lead right into our third point today
We Are Seated Together With Him In His Present Rule At God’s Right Hand!
We Are Seated Together With Him In His Present Rule At God’s Right Hand!
again I go back to that verse that we looked at in the beginning
13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,
We are children of the kingdom now.
We are kings kids. That makes a difference.
Think about the prince and princess and the rights that they had in a monarchy
We have that today as a child of God.
We are part of another kingdom now
We have to act like it
We have to live like it
But it’s worth it, isn’t it?
I entitled this message “Grab you seat”
and I’ve shown you what it means to be seated with Christ today
But you’ve got to want to take the seat.
You’ve got to want to spend the time in his presence
You’ve got to want what He is offering you today.
Take you seat with Christ.
When I tell the kids in my class to grab their seat, they know that I am moving them
God wants to move you today. He has a plan for your life today.
Grab your seat.
We have been raised from the dead with Jesus
We have new possibility
We have been raised in his ascension with Jesus
We have a new position
We have been raised to his place of ruling with Jesus
We have a new posture.
That posture is one of victory.
Jesus enables us to share in the present works of his kingdom’s power
Can you see that today child of God?
When the enemy comes against you.
When life seems terrible and unlivable
The power of the kingdom of heaven is in reach.
The prodigal son says, If I can just go back to my father.
Run to your father today.
I know it’s bad
I get that it’s horrible and painful and discouraging
Run to your father today.
See the power of the Kingdom of Heaven at work in your life and in your circumstance.
and I promise you that you will see things change.
How many want that today?
How many need that today?
Stand with me. Right now, just stand where you are all over this place.
Let’s Pray