Alive Conference Night 1
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Dead to Alive
Dead to Alive
Ephesians 2:1-10
Main Idea: Even at our lowest God still saved us.
ME: Problems with impossible solutions will leave us the most transformed.
Have you ever tried to solve a problem that just seemed to be unsolvable?
Like sure if you have a math class— literally as soon as letters showed up with numbers, I was out.
You can’t put number with letters— its not math anymore.
But don’t get me started there.
So like all of math is unsolvable.
But what about in your world.
Like have you been placed in a situation where the problem at hand was just maybe a little too challenging?
That you were not going to be able to solve it on your own?
But like when that happens— are you a type of person that just folds or are you someone who laces up the shoes, get your adult pants on, tightens your belt, and attack the problem anyway?
Knowing that you won’t be able to fix it?
I say I have a little stubbornness in me.
I blame it on the fact that I was a first born of my family and also my mom’s side of the family, i was the first grandchild and nephew.
Man I lived like a king until my brother came and ruined it all.
But I say that I have a little stubbornness to me.
And I would even say that I have something about me that when someone tells me I can’t do something, it makes me want to do it all the more.
Like my father-in-law makes some of the best chilly known to man.
It has 5 meats in it— it is sweet but spicy— and it is heavy and filling.
Well I love that Chilly and my father-in-law knows this and he also knows that I don’t like being told I can’t do something, so he challenged me to eat 10 bowls of chilly.
Expect he phrased it like this: Zach you can’t eat ten bowls of chilly.
There is no way you could do that.
And not only am I an in-law, I married his daughter and I know my parent’s didn’t raise no chump.
So I looked him dead in the eyes and I said— say it again.
“You can’t eat ten bowls of chilly.”
I responded with a watch me!
And over the next 3 hours I put down bowl after bowl of chilly.
I could feel my insides burning and screaming no more— but my mind was already made up— I was going to eat that chilly!
At about the 5th bowl time beings to move real slow— and so do you.
I finished the 10th bowl in the 3rd hour while I was on the can dropping bomb and filling the tank back up.
Now— I was miserable and the car ride home was terrible for everyone!
But I did it!
We live as people who try to make our own way.
I feel like this is a common phrase thrown around that you can do anything.
That you are capable of anything you put your mind too.
Like I have popped several blood vessels trying to us the Force and guess what, it still hasn’t happened.
I don’t really want to talk about the time I tried to fly.
But This isn’t true.
I think our world tries to tell us that we are more capable then we are.
Like you ever heard— shoot for the moon because if you miss then you at least end up among the stars.
The stars are further way then the moon— you dead— and you are a terrible navigator— the Moon is huge!
It’s not like you missed an exist when you were driving— you literally missed the moon.
But we hear this so often and guess what we begin to believe it subconsciously.
So when a problem comes up— we try to take it on our selves.
We try to man up and woman up the situation.
And sure there is some stuff that we should do.
Like my oldest and middle children they give up so fast and easy.
Rosey my middle child will try to buckle herself in and before I can even buckle up she is yelling at me to help.
And I’m like you got— try.
Then she is like I did— it’s just too hard.
Help me.
I can’t… click… oh I did it.
I mean there are things that we can do.
But our culture tries to tell us to fix things that are out of your power.
Why is that?
WE: We live in a culture that is opposite of the Gospel.
Our culture is against the Gospel.
We hear often phrases like— you are perfect just the way you are.
You are enough.
And look you have been lied too.
You are not perfect the way you are— you are not enough
And then the real problem begins to sit on your mind.
If we aren’t perfect or enough then who is?
There is someone who is.
And His name is Jesus.
The gospel of Jesus is about God solving the impossible problem.
The problem that we keep trying to solve on our own.
Our current state prior to Jesus was we were dead.
We were dead, worthless, sinners.
And Paul in his letter to the Ephesians-- says that is where we were at.
That was our status in this life.
And that was not going to change no matter what you did.
And why is that?
Because we are not enough and we are not perfect.
But even in our broken, sinful, dirty situation God offers a gift.
GOD: God says I saw you in your death and He instead gives you life.
The Gospel impacts us by moving us from death to life.
We will be in Eph 2 tonight, if you have a Bible, flip there and let’s dive in.
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
The author of this letter here is a dude named Paul and Paul was a guy who thought he had it all figured out— he was a good jewish boy and was a good Pharisee but then he had encounter with Christ that changed his life.
So Paul is writing to the Ephesians in Ephesus.
And in chapter two we come face to face with this dreadful reality.
That we were dead in our trespasses and sin.
YOU were dead in the trespasses and sin in which you once walked.
Let’s define trespasses or transgressions and sin real quick.
Transgression or trespasses The ESV study Bible defines this as violations against God’s divine commandments.
This can be done intentionally or unintentionally.
Think of Samson broke his vow with the Lord by touching a dead lion and allowing his hair to be cut.
And Sin is defined as offenses against God in thought, word, or deed.
It is choosing to do wrong instead of right.
It is looking at someone and judging them, It is lying to someone or cheating someone out of something.
And Paul is like this is where you live at.
He is saying this is where you were.
What is interesting about that phrase is that this was a common Jewish way of speech.
That phrase “You were dead in your transgressions or trespasses”
Here is what theThe New Bible Commentary says on how the a Jewish person would hear this phrase;
Those bound in sin are doomed to death, and so already belong to its realm; the very thing they think of as ‘life’ is but a foretaste of death, because it is without God
This is where we all begin in life.
Separated
The fruit that you produced prior to coming to Jesus was dead.
Is something useful when it is dead?
NOPE!
It was not life but death.
why?
Because you were living according to the world— this is what you made your master; the world.
As Paul goes on to say in verse 2
You followed after the ruler of the power of the air.
This is not a good ruler, this would be Satan himself.
And you were working in disobedience to God.
So you were dead, in your sin because of how you followed the world, how you followed the prince of darkness, the devil
and you followed into disobedience against God.
Now I know what you may be thinking, wait Zach, I was not a satantic follower, at any point of my life.
I would say that when you were living apart from God, you are choosing to follow after devil, you were choosing to live separated from God.
Because that is really what it really means to be dead (you were spiritually Dead)— you are separated from God.
Or maybe you are thinking, well that is way behind me, and that is probably true.
For many of us we have been following Jesus longer than we have not been following Jesus.
But let’s look at verse 3.
among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
Paul shifts it up a bit here, where the first two verses he is saying you— you other people— but now he shifts into WE.
WE TOO ALL previously lived among the transgressors and sinners.
We all were children under wrath. as those who were dead in their trespasses and sin!
We all were dead! and Separated
WE WERE THERE.
Paul is telling the church here remember that you also were in the same spot as those who are still living in sin and trespasses—who have not tasted the goodness of Christ.
He is asking the people to recall that former life and remember that you too were once there.
As in you at some point in your life prior to knowing Jesus this would be you.
Or if you have not given your life over to Christ.
This passage is descibing you.
This is your current situation.
You are a sinner— who is living in the world and for the world.
Prior to us knowing Jesus our state was death.
The picture the text paints is bleak.
Because of sins, humans are the living dead.
But God saw this and He refuses to stay out of the picture.
God is going to take care of our deadness.
Here is what God did
Pick up in verse 4.
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
BUT GOD.
While we were dead in our sins.
Our hope did not look very bright, enter in the hero.
Jesus is a result of God’s rich mercy and love for us.
God had every right to crush us His enemy yet He sends in the savior.
Even though we were dead to rights in our sin Christ died for us.
Jesus came to this earth, lived a perfect life, went to the cross and died a death that was meant for us.
However Christ would not stay dead.
BUT HE WOULD RISE AGAIN.
And it is through his resurrection that we have been made alive together.
While God designed the rescue plan because of his love and mercy— it is by grace that we have been saved.
Grace was freely given to a sinners like you and me.
RC Sproul has a great quote about mercy and grace: “Grace and Mercy are never deserved.”
We did not deserve this free gift of salvation but we have a chance to receive it.
and maybe you already have recieved this free gift of grace.
And the thought from dead to alive is not always easy to grasp
Because we only see things move from life to death.
But God is saying no look you were dead— but now you are made alive with Christ.
This goes against everything we have ever seen— we have never seen something go from death to life.
This is the only place in history that moves death to life.
And that is because Christ himself moved from life-to death- and then back to life again.
It is through his resurrection his raising from the grave that we are able to move from dead to life.
Everyone who believes in Christ has the ability to move from death to life.
All one has to do is to believe in Jesus and you will be saved.
For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
and many of us may know this.
But are we living it?
Are we living for Christ.
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
It is only through the free gift of grace through Jesus that we can be saved, and be forgiven.
It is not a result of works.
Why?
Because if faith was based on all the good we did in this life, we may have a better world, Christians may be more friendly but it would all be for the wrong motives.
We would boast in our own righteousness.
hmmm that sounds like the Pharisees who boasted in how great they were.
We have been given a gift that is undeserving we can’t boast in it.
We do works that are based on our faith that we put in God.
Not so we are seen and noticed but because of how he loves us.
We want others to experience this love as well.
To go from death to life.
Because of God’s love, He offered mercy, He offered grace in the form of His son Jesus.
The people in the church at Ephesus needed to know that they were enemies of God But God loved them.
That God was willing to send His own Son to the cross so they could be saved.
They could not earn salvation on their own.
How desperately do we also need to know this truth, that we were separated from God but God loved us so much that He saw us dead in our sins and He said to His Son go and save them.
Understanding that it had to be Jesus, because if it was our own way, we would boast in it, but a free gift no one can boast in.
It is free, it is given with so much love, mercy and grace.
The Gospel is what Paul wanted the people to know, and this is the same desire for people today to know the Gospel of Christ.
To know it, to live it, and to share it with the world.
We share it because we are designed to be his workmanship to be obedient to the call that He placed on us.
Salvation is for all and something so valuable cost us nothing, that is what the Gospel was then, and now and forever to come.
YOU: Where will you live at?
You have two choices.
You can be dead or you can be alive but you can’t be both.
If this is your first time hearing about your need for a savior it may change how you live you life.
You have not have known that there was this problem of sin and you being dead in your sin.
You may not have known but what are you going to do about it now?
Are you going to move from death to life?
Or are you going to stay dead?
If you stay dead you can be in the world.
You can sin— and not have to worry about what will happen to you— but that will only last so long.
You will one day have to come face to face with the questions: of who do you say God is?
And how you answer will determine your eternity.
God love you so much that He gave up his son so that you could come awake and come alive in your faith.
And look there is nothing special you have to do— God isn’t looking for you to change yourself and then come to Him--
He invited you in and he loves you were you are at— but your current situation is that you are dead and He is going to make you alive.
Meaning that in order to not be dead you are going to have to move and come alive.
God loves you so very much right where you are but he refuses to leave to that way.
If he did you would still be dead and God gives life not death.
If you have not chosen to have Jesus be Lord of your life I ask that you do not leave this place without knowing Him.
Now there is another type of person in this room as well.
One who has come awake— they have moved from death to life— but they find themselves going back and fourth between death and life.
We have believers who want to hold on to our former life which is sin and death instead of embracing the new life in Christ.
If this is where you are at— then you have to decide who or what you want to follow.
Your former life in sin
or your present life in Christ
I often wonder what makes us go back to our former life?
I think it comes down to we like it.
We can do what we want and it makes us feel good— we give into our desires and we are satisfied.
Man, if I had all the money in the world— I wish I could give you everything you ever wanted— because you would find that you are still empty and in need of Jesus.
WE: Living in the world without God will leave us empty and wanting but living with God will change everything.
If you chose today to follow Christ your life will be changed.
God is in the business of saving and transforming lives.
He is in the business of moving people from death to life.
That is the Gospel of Christ— impacts us by moving us from death to life.
And what happens then is your identity is no longer the world or your status of death.
But it is free in Christ.
It is bought and paid for.
It is sons and daughter to the King.
Ya’ll got royalty in your blood.
But yet you want to behave like your not— you want the world to be where you find value and purpose and loved one— it is not going to give it to you.
But God will— Christ will give you a new identity.
another one of Paul’s letter says this:
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
Death is gone, you are alive.
It’s time to wake up and come alive.
Are you willing to do this?
Are you willing to just trust in God?
Are you willing to move from death to life?
This faith/ this belief in God is worth having.
It is relational and it is impactful and it is transformational.
Are you ready to come alive?
Let’s pray
33mins
We were created to be used by God.
and this is only possible by bringing our dead selves into a new self that was bought and paid for by Christ Himself.
So that you can be used by God for his glory and you will be given a purpose!
And isn’t that what we want.
We want direction and we want purpose.
Every one in life ask 3 main questions:
Who Am I
What am I doing
And what is my purpose.
And in these 10 verses we see God wants to move us from death to life.
Which is amazing!
And we say sign me up what must I do?!?!
Yes I want purpose
He gives us a purpose!
And here is the best part— it has literally nothing to do with you.
We read that back in verse 8 and 9
The picture was bleak, but God acted because of his love and mercy.
I will make you alive and it will cost you nothing— but it will cost me everything.
So the last question remains: