CT: You Must Die First

Super Mario: Found a way to keep getting more lives by getting the green mushrooms.

How would you Live if you Knew you would Never Die?

My guess is you would be willing to take a lot more risks. You wouldn’t let fear stop you from doing anything you wanted. You may sense a lot more freedom in life. You would not fear people because they wouldn’t be able to ultimately kill you.

How would you Live if you Knew you would Never Loose?

My guess is also that you would be a whole lot more courageous. You would take bigger risks, because they wouldn’t really be risky. You wouldn’t need to be afraid. It wouldn’t matter how intimidating the oponent was, if you already knew the final outcome.

If we want to see a revival happen, there need to be some revivalists. God needs people who are willing to say, “Here I am, send me” (Is. 6:8). There are a lot of things I could choose to do with my life, alot of them seem really fun! But in the end, I want to be one who God uses to accomplish His work in the world. I want to be a revivalist. And to choose to be that, means I need to say “no” to other really cool things. I don’t want to get passed up. God is going to use some willing men and women to accomplish His work in the world, and I want to be one of them. And if you do to, that’s what this training is all about, being a revivalist here at SDSU.

In Christ we are immortal and on the winning team.

You are Immortal

John 3:16 ESV

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

1 John 5:11–12 ESV

And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

2 Corinthians 5:8 ESV

Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

You are Victorious

Matthew 24:14 ESV

And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

Romans 14:11 ESV

for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.”

Revelation 7:9 ESV

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands,

These truths should be so freeing, yet what hinders us from experiencing the freedom we should have?

You must die before you can really live

Colossians 3:3 ESV

For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

John 12:24 ESV

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.

Galatians 2:20 ESV

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Matthew 10:39 ESV

Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

So long as we still have our “self” alive in us, we will never experience the freedom, boldness and life Jesus has for us. Why? Because we are still trying to preserve our “self.”

What do we need freedom from?

Slavery to Mammon: Luke 16:13

Luke 16:13 NKJV

“No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

It’s not bad to have things, but it is so easy to be afraid of loosing these things. Because we have worked hard to get them. And the rest of the world lives for it, so it seems so completely normal to live for things. We must constantly search our hearts to make sure there is no fear of loosing it all, or giving it all, or leaving it all. All is to be placed openly before Christ as Master.

Sin

Romans 6:10–11 ESV

For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

While we will never be perfect, this is no justification for leaving known sin in our lives. Sin is not to be managed, it is to be put to death. Sin is to be dead to me. It doesn’t mean it will not appeal to me, it often does; but it means that I have chosen to live for something different. My life is now about Christ and living for him.

Fear of Man and Reputation

We so often are afraid of what others may think of us. I fear that if I walk up to someone and ask them about their faith, they may despise me. If I share the gospel boldly, I may be labeled as something like a “religious fanatic” or a “Bible thuper.” I may be stereotyped as “intolerant” or “narrow minded.” I may even be seen as a neusence to some.

Galatians 1:10 ESV

For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.

1 Thessalonians 2:4 ESV

but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts.

Striving for Status

Luke 22:26 ESV

But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves.

A desire to receive and preserve honor is enslaving.

What do you call a person who...

is not living to gain things, money or status

Cares more about how God sees them than preserving their reputation.

Does not fear people

Does not fear death

Dangerous

This person can make a killer impact. They are radical, willing to take risks, willing to show extravagant love towards others, willing to be generous, willing to be bold and courageous to tell the world about Jesus.

But you first need to die to self. This is key to being a Revivalist.

Response:

Repent: God, I repent of living for self. I have have allowed _________ (sin, mammon, fear of man, fear of death, comfort) dictate my life. I choose to put “self” to death, so that I can come alive in you!

Receive: Jesus, I receive your forgiveness for __________. I know you see it, and you died for me anyway. I thank you for restoring my relationship with God, and I enter into your peace that you have for me now.

Rebuke: I rebuke any spirit that has been influencing me in Jesus name, and I command you to leave by the authority of Jesus. I also renounce the lie that I need to _______________.

Replace: I replace fear of man with fear of You. I exchange Mammon as my master with God as my master. I replace fear of death with the boldness that comes from the knowledge of my eternal security. I am ready to go anywhere, do anything, give anything and say anything for Jesus. God, make me a Revivalist.