Back to Life Part One

A man named Jack was walking along a steep cliff one day when he accidentally got too close to the edge and fell. On the way down he grabbed a branch, which temporarily stopped his fall. He looked down and to his horror saw that the drop below him was more than a thousand feet, and he couldn’t hang on to the branch forever.

So Jack began yelling for help, hoping that someone passing by would hear and lower a rope or do something.

“Help! Help! Is anyone up there? Help!” Jack yelled. No one heard him. He was about to give up when he heard a voice, “Jack, Jack. Can you hear me?”

“Yes, yes! I can hear you. I’m down here!”

“I can see you, Jack. Are you all right?”

“No! I need help. Who are you, and where are you?”

“I am the Lord, Jack. I’m everywhere.”

“The Lord? You mean GOD?”

“That’s me.”

“Oh, God, please help me! I promise that if You get me down from here, I’ll really be a good person. I’ll go back to church and serve you for the rest of my life.”

“Easy on the promises, Jack. Now, here’s what I want you to do. Listen carefully.”

“I’ll do anything, Lord. Just tell me.”

“Okay. Let go of the branch.”

“What?”

“I said, let go of the branch. Trust me. Let go.”

There was a long silence.

Finally Jack yelled, “Help! Help! Help! Is there anyone else up there?”

Now I know this is a silly joke, but there is a bit of truth to it isn’t there? Sometimes God is all we have and we have to make a decision to place our complete trust in Him or try to figure out a way on our own.

We are starting a new sermon series called Back to life. My aim for the series is to encourage you to live your “reborn” life in Christ to it’s fullest. Our main text for the next 4 weeks is going to be 2 Corinthians 4:15-18 and 2 Corinthians 5:1-21. I feel there’s much for us to digest about how Christ has brought us “back to life”. God’s plan is to reconcile people back to himself through Christ.

It’s very exciting stuff!

Spring is only 6 days away. March 20th is the official day. Now, I for one, love spring. I always say spring is my favorite time of year until the first day of fall because then fall becomes my favorite time of year. What I love about spring is how everything comes back to life.

The flowers grow, the grass turns green, kids climb out from under whatever rock they’ve been hiding under.

Easter is coming and we remember that Christ life was given so that we can have a new life in Him.

Before we read our main scripture for today I want to give you the context.

Who wrote it? Apostle Paul

When was it written? Paul wrote it while in Macedonia after he visited the Christians in Corinth.

Who was it written for? Christians in Corinth

Why was it written? It was written to encourage the church to focus on what mattered for eternity. At this point in his ministry Paul had been persecuted. In verse 12 he tells them that he lived in the face of death so that the church in corinth could hear the gospel and be saved.

Sometimes I am guilty of reading the words written in the Bible without giving much thought to the price that was paid for them to be written. Paul was a man who had once persecuted the church. After an encounter with Jesus he became the persecuted. When we read the word he wrote to the church at corinth we need to keep in mind the the gravity of what he was saying.

This was real stuff they were facing. We can take his words to heart today. If we can apply it correctly I believe it will help us come Back to Life.

Let’s read our scripture for today:

2 Corinthians 4:15–18 NLT

15 All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory. 16 That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. 17 For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! 18 So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

Can you hear the tone of his voice here? This man has given everthing he’s got for the gospel to be preached and for lives to be reborn in Christ. I want to pull three points from this scripture today.

1. Grace Brings Life

Verse 15 says that grace was reaching more and more people. What is grace?

“Grace is the good pleasure of God that inclines Him to bestow benefits upon the undeserving. Its use to us sinful men is to save us and make us sit together in heavenly places to demonstrate to the ages the exceeding riches of God’s kindness to us in Christ Jesus.”—A. W. Tozer

We are all in need of the grace of God because we have all fallen short. No one in this room is perfect. Even if we try to look the part on the exterior, God can see the depths of our hearts. We try to put sin into categories…one is worse than another. I’ve even heard people say that they hope they have been good enough to make it to heaven.

The problem with that is that apart from the Grace of God there’s only one option, and it’s pretty toasty.

I like how Paul describes God’s grace in Romans chapter 5:

Romans 5:21 So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

In the verses before this one he is explaining that sin entered the world through one man and through the Grace or Gift of God righteouness was given through Jesus Christ.

The first step in understanding salvation is to understand grace. Because if you don’t understand this grace then you will think that you must try to EARN your postion with God which is absolutely impossible.

Here’s my gift to you today…You’re not good enough. There, you’re welcome. Well, that doesn’t seem very nice does it? But if you understand what I am saying then you might be set free from the burden of guilt. What a great gift. To have a clear conscious before God. To know that you can’t do anything to earn the love of God. It’s a gift.

This grace from God leads us to salvation only if we choose to have faith in Christ as our saviour and to declare Him as the Lord of our live.

Ephesians 2:8 NLT

8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.

I like the NKJV of this verse:

Ephesians 2:8 NKJV

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,

This was news what epic in the time that Paul was preaching to the world. That’s why he told the Christians in his letter in verse 15 that as people heard the good news more and more people were coming to Christ in faith. They were being reborn.

People were being brought from death to life. People that once were destinded for eternal damnation were being brought Back to Life!

This was great news then and guess what? It’s great news today! If you are here today and you have doubts about your salvation then I would ask you first and foremost, is the grace of God good enough for you or are you hanging off the edge of the cliff trying to find another way to save yourself?

But you say…Pastor, it’s not enough to be saved by grace, you’re life needs to change to stay saved. To that I say, kinda!

There are no conditions to salvation. You are saved or you aren’t. There’s no middle ground. You can only be saved by placing faith in Jesus as your only hope. Trusting in Him as your saviour.

BUT…listen to what Paul says in another passage:

Romans 6:1–2 NLT

1 Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? 2 Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?

Or what about what James says?

James 2:14 NLT

14 What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone?

James 2:17 NLT

17 So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.

This seems contradictory to what I have been preaching…or does it?

Let’s go back to the first scripture I gave you about how we are saved by grace through faith and read a little bit more:

Ephesians 2:8–10 NLT

8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

We are saved by grace through faith and that should produce works in our lives. How could it not? When we are brought back to life by grace our motives need to change. We should be like Paul who gave his life for the sake of the gospel because, as verse 15 says, it brought Glory to God!

This brings be to my second point:

2. The Spirit Brings Life

2 Corinthians 4:16–17 NLT

16 That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. 17 For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!

How excited are you about the grace of God? Are you excited enough to let other people know about the wonderful gift of God’s grace?

Well, Paul is telling us that he was so thrilled that the Grace of God was reaching people and God was being glorified that he would NEVER give up. Even though he was facing death. Even though his body was failing. The gospel was too great for him to stop telling the good news.

His one life impacted the world is a dramatic way. I’ve got to tell you, it might not seem like it, but you and I can make a difference if we would allow the thrill of the gospel motivate us.

A southern California golfer provided a good example of how a small spark can start a big blaze. The man was golfing at the Shady Canyon Golf Course in Irvine and accidentally chipped his ball into the rough beside the fairway. On his next swing, his club hit a rock, which caused a small spark. The spark landed in the dry grass and set the rough on fire. Fire officials say 150 firefighters were called to battle the fire that quickly spread through vegetation next to the course and over two dry, brushy hillsides nearby.

That little tiny spark ignited something that this man couldn’t control. I am more and more convinced that we are called to start some fires…not real fires, but spiritual fires. We should be like Paul and say, I’ll never give up! I’ve just got to do the work God has called me to do.

Here’s how you can get involved. You’ve got to come back to life.

Paul said that his body was dying, but his spirit was being renewed each day. What does that mean?

Believers should continue to grow in the knowledge of God and be transformed into Christ’s image in preparation for His return; the Holy Spirit does this work in believers

Jesus’ death and resurrection not only conquered death once and for all, it enabled believers to have new life as well.

Romans 6:4 NLT

4 For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.

Paul describes a twofold division between the flesh and the spirit. The flesh refers to God’s originally perfect creation, which is now mortal and in decay as result of sin entering the world through Adam.

The spirit is the ESSENCE of who we are, the part of us that lives on after our physical bodies die. In 2 Corinthians 4:16, Paul contrasts the two, stating that our outer person is being destroyed as our inner one is being renewed. Our physical bodies will continue to decay until God gives us a new, spiritual body.

Here’s an a scripture to get excited about:

Romans 8:23 And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us.

Our spirits have been brought back to life because the Holy Spirit is now dwelling in us. As we meditate on the word we will be renewed.

You may be weak right now, but I tell you to wait on the Lord. He will renew your strength.

Isaiah 40:31 NLT

31 But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.

We are brought back to life by grace, we are brought back to life by the Holy Spirit and finally today...

3. Vision Brings Life

When Paul says that our present troubles are small and won’t last he is reminding the church that we have hope in the future! What a future that will be! But we must stay grounded in that fact that we have work to do right now. Work to reach the lost.

2 Corinthians 4:18 NLT

18 So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

I am more and more conviced that what we focus on determines our future. If you are always looking at the problems and focusing on the troubles of this life I believe you’ll end up falling back. You won’t be living the life God intended you to live.

Perspective is exteremly important in the life of a believer. Yes there are hardships but we know they are temporary and easier to bear when put in the perspective of eternity.

Paul does not focus on his afflictions. Instead, he reflects on God’s promises and the hope of resurrection in Christ.

One of my wifes favorites verses:

2 Corinthians 1:20 For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory.

Here’s some practical application:

1) My body is full of cancer and pain - God I am going to keep seeking your kingdom instead of FOCUSING on my physical problem because my hope is in the future.

2) I don’t have enough money - God you own it all. One day all this money will be burned up, I’m going to focus on you!

You get the idea. We’ve got to set our vision and focus on God.

I love riding my bike. There’s something I’ve learned about riding and I learned it the hard way. You end up going to whatever you’re looking at…If you are looking at the fire hydrant up ahead then most likely you’re gonna hit it! I don’t know why, but have crashing a few times I can tell you that it’s true!

You’ve got to adjust your focus on where you want to go and more often then not you’ll end up right where you’re supposed to be.

You might not be happy with where you are right now in your life. You might need to be brought back to life in your purpose. I’d encourage you to adjust your vision. Focus on what’s important.

Today, I want you to to be brought back to life. Maybe you need to accept grace, maybe you need to be renewed by the spirit, maybe you need to adjust your vision. My prayer in studying this week has been that God start a little fire in your hearts. To bring back to life something inside you that would propell you to a new level of faith. I hope that when you read the words of Paul you say, I want to reach the lost, I won’t give up, and I will keep my gaze on things that cannot be seen.