SERMON: I BELIEVE IN THE LIFE EVERLASTING

11 MAY 2008

I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Rev 21


1. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.
2. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
3. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.
4. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
5. He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!"
-- once upon a time, twin boys were conceived in the womb -- seconds, minutes, hours passed as these little embryos developed -- the spark of life grew and each tiny brain began to take shape and form -- within the development of their brain came feeling, and with feeling, perception -- a perception of their surroundings, of each other, and their own lives -- they discovered that life was good and they laughed and rejoiced in their hearts
-- one twin said to the other -- "we are sure lucky to have been conceived and to have this wonderful world to live in"
-- the other replied, "yes, blessed be our mother who gave us life and each other"
-- each of the twins continued to grow and soon their arms and fingers, legs and toes began to take shape -- they moved about in their little world -- exploring it and learning more about it -- they discovered the life cord which gave them life from their mother's blood -- they were grateful for this discovery and sand, "How great is the love of our mother -- that she shares all she has with us"
-- weeks passed into months -- and every day, they noticed a change in each other and in themselves -- "what does this mean" -- "it means," said the other twin, "that we are drawing near to birth"
-- an unsettling chill crept over the two boys -- they were afraid of birth, for they knew that it meant leaving their wonderful world behind
-- the first one said, "If it were up to me, I'd live here forever"
-- the second one replied, "But we have to be born -- it happened to the others who came before -- remember, we found evidence that other children were here before us? -- I believe there is life after birth, don't you?"
-- "How can there be life after birth?" -- the first twin cried -- "Won't we lose our life cord and the blood tissue when we are born? -- have you ever talked to anyone who has been born? -- has anyone ever re-entered the womb after birth to describe what birth is like? -- NO!"
-- as he spoke, the first twin fell into despair -- "if the purpose of conception and our life in this womb is to end in birth, then truly our life is senseless -- and if this is so, then there really can be no mother"
-- "But there is a mother," the other twin protested -- "Who gave us nourishment? -- who else created this world for us?"
-- the first twin responded, "We get our nourishment from this cord -- and this world has always been here -- and if there is a mother, then where is she? -- have you ever seen her? -- does she ever talk to you? -- NO -- we invented the mother when we were young because it satisfied a need in us -- it made us feel secure and happy"
-- thus, one twin raged and despaired while the other one resigned himself to birth and placed his trust in the hands of his mother -- hours turned into days -- days into weeks -- and soon it was time -- they both knew their birth was at hand, and they both feared what they did not know
-- the twins cried as they were born into the light -- they coughed out fluid and gasped the dry air -- and when they had been born, they opened their eyes -- seeing life after birth for the very first time -- what they saw was the beautiful eyes of their mother as she cradled them lovingly in her arms -- birth was not an end after all -- instead, it was a homecoming

-- this morning, we are going to finish our series on the Apostle's Creed as we look at the final line in the creed, "I believe in the life everlasting"
-- I hope that as we've gone through this series that you've noticed how each line of the creed builds upon the other -- for instance, we proclaim that we believe in the Holy Spirit -- who, in turn, creates the holy catholic church through His indwelling presence
-- the holy catholic church, the church universal, comprised of all believers -- joins together in the communion of saints as one body and one people under the Lordship of Christ Jesus
-- as Christ's body, the church proclaims the forgiveness of sins and introduces people to the gospel of Christ through the Great Commission and the Great Commandment
-- through the forgiveness of sins, we look forward to the resurrection of the body -- the time when we will be given new, perfect bodies that are imperishable
-- which brings us to todays topic -- perhaps since last week you have been asking, "Why are we resurrected with bodies? -- why are we not just spiritually resurrected? -- what is so important about having a body? -- could it be that there is a place prepared for us -- not a spiritual realm -- but a physical realm where we will spend eternity?"
-- I'm glad you asked -- so let's spend some time talking about our future destination -- our life everlasting

II. Common Thoughts About Heaven
-- of course, when we talk about the life everlasting -- about life after death -- we are talking about heaven
-- I want you to do me a favor -- I want you to close your eyes for just a moment and picture in your mind what heaven looks like -- keep your eyes closed -- picture yourself there -- look around -- what do you see? -- who is there with you?
-- o.k. -- now open your eyes
-- what did heaven look like to you? -- for most of us, when we picture heaven, we imagine a city in the clouds -- everything is white and billowy and very bright -- everyone up there is wearing white robes -- and they're just sort of floating around on clouds all day -- playing harps and singing hymns -- and God is there, seated on His throne
-- generally, when we think of heaven, we think of it as one big, never-ending, church service -- and, truth be told, it just doesn't sound like that fun of a place

-- this is exactly the way Gary Larson, the creator of the Far Side cartoons, envisioned heaven -- there's a couple memorable cartoons about heaven that he drew -- in one, it shows two lines of people -- one line is going to heaven and the other is going to hell -- the caption for the top says, "Welcome to heaven, here's your harp" -- and the caption for the other one says, "Welcome to hell, here's your accordion"
-- but I think my favorite -- I think the one that really sums up the way we truly feel about heaven is the one that shows this guy in heaven -- sitting on a cloud with his legs hanging over and his head in his hands -- the caption says, "I wish I'd brought along a magazine"
-- honestly, when we hear about heaven, it really sounds boring -- it doesn't sound like the kind of place where we want to spend eternity
-- in his story, "Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven," Mark Twain wrote, "Singing hymns and waving palm branches through all eternity is pretty when you hear about it in the pulpit, but it's as poor a way to put in valuable time as a body could contrive"
-- I think Twain spoke for the common man when he wrote that statement -- people think heaven is going to be nothing more than an eternal Sunday worship service -- and for that reason, a lot of people just don't want to go
-- I've even had people tell me that they want to go to Hell, because it'll be more fun and a lot more exciting -- kind of like the old quote, "heaven for climate, hell for society"
-- but, is that what heaven is really going to be all about? -- is that what the Bible teaches?
-- what really happens when we die? -- where do we go?

III. Paradise
-- if you would, turn over to 2 Corinthians 12

1. I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord.
2. I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know--God knows.
3. And I know that this man--whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows--
4. was caught up to paradise. He heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell.

-- in this passage, the Apostle Paul tells us about a time when he went to heaven -- now, he calls it the "third" heaven, but don't get hung up on that -- the Jews recognized three distinct heavens -- the first heaven was the atmosphere -- the air that we breathe -- the second heaven was where the stars were -- where the sun and the moon were located -- the universe -- the third heaven was the home of God -- it is the place that we typically think of when we talk about heaven
-- so, Paul tells us here about a time when he was caught up and carried to the third heaven -- to the home of God
-- when Paul and Barnabus had been in Lystra, the Jews had surrounded him and stoned him -- they thought they had killed him and they dragged his body outside the city and left it there to rot -- several scholars agree that this may be the moment when Paul was carried to heaven -- it could be that he actually died and went to heaven, but God raised him from the dead -- all we know for sure is that Luke tells us in Acts 14:20 that all the disciples gathered around the body of Paul and that he got up and went back into the city
-- regardless of when and how it happened -- Paul tells us in this passage that he went to heaven -- now there are a couple of important things that I want you to see about heaven from this passage

-- first, notice in verse 4 what Paul calls the place where he went -- he calls it "Paradise"
-- do you remember what Jesus told the thief who repented of his sins on the cross? -- in Luke 23:43, Jesus told him, "Today, you will be with me in paradise"
-- paradise is the name of the place where you go when you die if you believe in Christ -- if you have accepted Him as your Lord and Savior

-- and this brings up the next important fact -- Jesus told the thief, "Today, you will be with me in paradise" -- not, "after a long time of sleep" -- not, "after the world ends and I come back" -- Jesus said, "today, you will be with me in paradise"
-- when you die, you are immediately transported to another realm -- believers go to paradise -- the rest go to a place of torment that we typically call hell
-- Paul makes this point earlier in this letter to the Corinthians -- in 2 Corinthians 5:6-8, Paul wrote that to be absent from the body is to be with Christ -- and that he would prefer to be away from the body and to be at home with the Lord
-- in Philippians 1:21-23, Paul also wrote -- "to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain -- I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far"
-- the Bible teaches that when you die, if you believe in Christ, you go straight to the third heaven -- you go straight to paradise
-- we see the same thing in the experiences of all of those here who have died and then have been revived and have written about it -- I remember reading a book when I was a kid about after-death experiences, and it was always the same -- immediately when a person died, they were carried to either heaven or hell
-- and, of course, there is the current best-seller by Don Piper called, "90 minutes in heaven" -- where he tells about his death experience and being immediately caught up into heaven when he died


-- finally, notice that Paul says that he was aware of his presence in Paradise -- he wasn't sure if he had a physical body or not -- but he had a body of some type -- Paul says that he heard "inexpressible things" -- he obviously was able to hear and to speak -- he was able to learn new things -- things that he didn't know before
-- so, Paradise is going to be a place where our senses are engaged -- where we can hear and speak and feel and touch -- where we will be growing and learning

-- the bottom-line that I wanted you to get from this passage this morning is that when you die, you don't quit living -- you simply change addresses -- and, if you believe in Jesus -- if you have accepted Him as your Lord and Savior -- the Bible tells us that immediately -- the very instant that you die -- you will be with Jesus in Paradise

-- now, I have absolutely run out of time -- this is a topic that we could spend years discussing -- so, I'm going to leave you with a couple more thoughts on the general topic of heaven and then we're going to pick up right here again next week and continue our thoughts about heaven

IV. Closing
-- there's a cemetery in Indiana that has a tombstone, more than one hundred year old, with the following epitaph:
-- "Pause, stranger, when you pass my by -- as you are now, so once was I -- as I am now, so you will be -- so prepare for death and follow me"
-- an unknown passerby scratched these additional words on the tombstone -- "To follow you I'm not content, until I know which way you went"

-- when we say "I believe in the life everlasting" we proclaim our belief in life after death -- in an eternity that exists outside of our world and our time -- usually, we mean heaven when we proclaim our belief in the life everlasting, but we should never forget the fact that there are two eternal destinations to which you can go when you leave earth -- heaven and hell
-- heaven is eternal life with God -- while hell is eternal separation from God and from all that God is -- God is love, so love doesn't exist in hell -- God is good and holy and pure -- so nothing good or holy or pure can be in hell -- God exists in community and invites us into community with Him -- so community will not exist in hell
-- hell will be a place of isolation, loneliness, and eternal separation from God
-- but, hell does not have to be our destination
-- although we are all sinners who have fallen short of the glory of God -- although we are all condemned to death and to hell because of our sins, there is a way out
-- God Himself came to earth in the person of Jesus Christ and paid the penalty for our sins -- He went to the cross in our place and gave His own body and blood to atone for our sins -- and He offers us forgiveness and salvation if we only believe in His name and trust in Him with all our heart and mind and soul and strength
-- Jesus punched our ticket to heaven with the cross -- but we have to pick up our ticket in order to go -- we have to ask Him to forgive us for our sins -- to cover us with His blood -- and to save us from sin and death and from hell itself
-- if we do that, we can have the assurance that we are saved and are going to heaven to live with God -- as John tells us in 1 John 5:11-13 -- "And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. -- He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. -- I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life."
-- as I close, I want to invite you to examine your heart -- to really think about what you believe and what you know about your relationship with God -- do you know without a doubt that you are going to heaven? -- do you know without a doubt that you have personally asked Jesus to forgive you of your sins and to come into your life as Lord and Savior?
-- if not, then I want you to get that assurance before you leave here -- I want to invite you to respond to God's word -- to call on the name of His Son -- and to receive Him as your Lord and Savior
-- you can do so at your seat or you can come to the altar -- the important thing is that you come
-- let us pray

SERMON: I BELIEVE IN THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY

Preached by Gregory W. Lee
4 May 2008

I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to 1 Corinthians 15

12. But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?
13. If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.
14. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.
15. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised.
16. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either.
17. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.
18. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.
19. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.
20. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.


-- the story is told about this man and his wife who were visiting the Holy Land with the wife's mother -- while they were over there, her mother got extremely sick -- and despite all the doctor's best efforts, she eventually died
-- the man's wife was understandably distraught, so the husband went to the funeral home to see what could be done for his mother-in-law's body
-- the funeral home director told him that it was very expensive to ship a body back to the United States -- and that it would cost at least $5,000 -- but, if the man wished, he could bury her in a special graveyard there in the Holy Land for just $150
-- the man thought about it for only a second and said, "No, I don't care how much it costs -- we want her shipped home" -- the funeral home director said, "You must have loved your mother-in-law very much, considering that you would want to spend all that extra money to ship her home when you could just have buried her here"
-- "No," the man said, "it's not that. You see, I know of a case many years ago when you buried a dead man here in Jerusalem, and He came back to life on the third day. I just can't run the risk."
-- now I have a good relationship with my mother-in-law, so I can get away with telling jokes like that -- but it does bring us to mind the next topic in our series on the Apostle's Creed
-- this morning we are going to be looking at the next line in the creed, which states, "I believe in the resurrection of the body"

-- the doctrine of the resurrection is foundational to our Christian faith -- our religion hinges on this doctrinal truth -- without the resurrection, we have no religion -- without the resurrection, our faith is in vain -- without the resurrection we have no hope and we are wasting a perfectly good Sunday morning because we are here for no reason at all
-- Gerald O'Collins put it this way: "Christianity without the resurrection is not simply Christianity without its final chapter. It is not Christianity at all."
-- we believe that Jesus died on the cross at Calvary for our sins -- we believe that God raised Him from the dead three days later -- and, because of this, we believe that we will all be raised as well
-- so, this morning, let's spend a few minutes discussing the doctrine of the resurrection

II. Scripture Lesson
-- as we turn to this passage again in 1 Corinthians 15, let me remind you of a truth that you may have forgotten -- the idea of the resurrection did not originate with Jesus -- it wasn't an invention of the early Christians
-- many, many Jews, especially those belonging to the Pharisees, believed in the resurrection long before Jesus began preaching and teaching in Israel -- orthodox Jews still believe in the resurrection today, although they do not believe that Jesus was the Messiah
-- and, of course, many pagan religions teach something similar to a resurrection -- they teach the immortality of the soul
-- so, what makes the teaching of the resurrection by the Christian church so distinct?

-- if you would, look at verse 1 in this passage


1. Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand.
2. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
3. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance : that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
4. that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
5. and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve.
6. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.
7. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles,
8. and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
-- here's the difference -- the resurrection that the Pharisees and the others believed in was a spiritual resurrection -- not a physical resurrection -- they believed in the immortality of the soul -- that at some point in the future, there would be a resurrection of the spirit and that all those who died would be resurrected -- some to eternal life and others to eternal punishment
-- all the way back in the Book of Daniel, Chapter 12:2, we see an indication of this belief -- "Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt."
-- no one seemed to have believed in the physical resurrection of the body
-- but for Peter and James and all the other disciples and apostles, the resurrection ceased to be theory and became a fact -- their faith had been given sight
-- in other words, they believed in the resurrection of the body because they had seen a dead man raised -- they knew, without a doubt, that Jesus was dead -- they had witnessed His crucifixion -- they had seen His body taken down from the cross -- they knew He was a dead as dead could be -- and the thought that He might physically come back to life again never even crossed their mind
-- but Jesus had risen from the dead -- not as a disembodied spirit -- but as a living, breathing person who spoke with them, ate with them, and let them touch Him
-- as Peter said in Acts 2:31, "God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. "
-- the early Christians believed in the resurrection, not because they had been taught about it from a book, but because they had witnessed it with their very own eyes

-- but questions naturally arose, "What does Jesus' resurrection mean to me? -- Just because He rose from the dead, does it mean I will, too? -- And if I'm resurrected, will it be a physical or a spiritual resurrection?"
-- these are the questions that Paul is addressing in this passage -- evidently, there were some in the church of Corinth who were teaching that there was no resurrection of the dead and others who were teaching that the resurrection was not bodily

-- look at verse 12

12. But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?
13. If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.

-- Paul's point here in these verses is that Jesus' death and resurrection are proof that the dead will be resurrected at the last days -- if we preach and believe that Jesus was raised from the dead, how can you say that there is no resurrection? -- if you believe in the resurrection of Jesus, then you have to believe in the resurrection of all -- because, if there is no resurrection, then Jesus was not raised, either -- no where in the Bible does it say that only the Messiah will be raised from the dead -- it's either all or none
-- in John 11, Jesus is talking to Martha after the death of her brother, Lazarus -- in verse 23, Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." -- Martha answered, "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." -- Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die."
-- Jesus tells us that the resurrection is for all -- Paul tells us that Jesus' resurrection is proof that it will happen

-- now Paul addresses the question of why the resurrection is important -- look at verse 14

14. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.
15. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised.
16. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either.
17. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.
18. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.
19. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.

-- Paul is saying that if Christ has not been raised from the dead, then we have no chance at being raised -- if the resurrection didn't happen, then those who die, even if they believe that Christ was the Son of God -- even if they believe He paid the penalty on the cross for them -- even if they trust Him for eternal life -- it doesn't matter -- it all ends at death -- and there is no future in heaven for any of us
-- the resurrection of Jesus proved the truth of His claims -- it confirmed that He was Lord and Savior -- that He was Messiah -- and if the resurrection didn't take place, then our faith is built on lies -- all that we believe about Christ is not the truth -- it is wishful thinking
-- our faith becomes futile -- we believe in nothing -- and our sins are not forgiven -- if the resurrection didn't take place, we are not saved by grace, we are still condemned by the law
-- Do you see why I said that the resurrection of Christ is the most important aspect of Christianity? -- Do you see why the early Christians didn't preach about the cross but emphasized the fact that Jesus rose from the dead?
-- As Lee Strobel wrote, "The resurrection is the supreme vindication of Jesus' divine identity and his inspired teaching. It's the proof of his triumph over sin and death. It's the foreshadowing of Christian hope. It's the miracle of all miracles."
-- The resurrection of Christ confirms His deity. It proves that He bore the price of our sins on calvary. It proves that He has conquered satan and death. It proves that there is an eternal life after physical death. It proves that believers will one day be physically resurrected as well.

III. The Resurrected Body
-- now, if you notice, in the Apostle's Creed, we do not say, "I believe in the resurrection" -- but we say, "I believe in the resurrection of the body"
-- those three words -- "of the body" -- make up an important part of what we believe -- for they tell us how we will be resurrected
-- when the Apostle's Creed was prepared in 125 A.D., there were still a lot of non-Christian groups who believed in a resurrection -- however, as I mentioned before, they believed only in a spiritual resurrection
-- one such group who was very active in the early days of the church were the Gnostics -- this group believed that the material world was inherently evil -- and that we were nothing more than spirits trapped in a physical body
-- they taught that the reason Jesus had come was to free us from our physical body by making possible the resurrection of the spirit -- and they were steadfast in their beliefs that Jesus did not have a physical body when He was no earth and was not physically resurrected but that He only had the appearance of a physical body
-- this is the main reason why the Apostle's Creed and the other creeds we have were written -- they were prepared as an apologetic -- a defense of the true faith and beliefs of the church
-- these creeds were a means to counter false teachings about the various aspects of Christianity -- that's the same thing that Paul has been doing in this letter to the Corinthians -- he has been trying to defend the faith against false teachers who were coming and spreading their lies throughout the church
-- so in this chapter, Paul has proclaimed the teaching of the church regarding the doctrine of the resurrection -- he has made it clear that since Jesus was resurrected from the dead, that proves that Jesus was the Son of God and that He conquered sin and death and it proves that we will be resurrected as well
-- the question that still remained, then, was "How will we be resurrected? -- what form would it take?"

-- look down at verse 42

42. So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable;
43. it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power;
44. it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

-- Paul makes it clear here in these verses -- our resurrection is not a spiritual resurrection -- Jesus didn't die and be raised on the third day so that our spirits could be released from our physical bodies -- Jesus died that we might be resurrected to new life
-- and this new life includes a new body
-- Paul spends these verses comparing our old body with our new, resurrected body -- which he calls a 'spiritual' body -- now don't get confused with the term "spiritual" here -- Paul is clear that we are not going to be bodiless spirits -- we are going to have a body -- he is using the term "spiritual" here to distinguish it from our current, natural body
-- Paul says that our natural body is perishable -- that it is weak -- that it is corrupt and dishonored -- but when we are resurrected, we will be given a new body that will be imperishable -- it will be filled with the power of God and it will be perfected through the grace of God
-- our new body will be similar to the resurrected body of Jesus -- in 1 John 3:2, John wrote that "we shall be like Him"
-- Jesus did not come back after death as a spirit -- but He came back with a physical body -- a new, perfect and imperishable body -- the disciples were able to touch Him and He was able to eat, so it had substance
-- when we are resurrected, we will be like Jesus -- we will not be resurrected as spirits -- but we will have a new body


IV. Closing

Gilbert Haven was a Methodist Episcopalian Bishop known as an able writer, a zealous reformer, an earnest preacher, and an indefatigable laborer. He died on Saturday morning, January 3, 1880, in Maiden, Massachusetts.

In his last few hours of life, Bishop Haven's allowed many of his friends to see him one more time in this life. Many were near at hand. Others were summoned by telegram and by messenger, until groups gathered around that couch, touched with the light of immortal glory, to muse over the transition from death unto life.

A physician who was present said: "I never saw a person die so before." A clergyman remarks: "To me it did not seem that I was in the presence of death. The whole atmosphere of the chamber was that of a joyous and festive hour. Only the tears of kindred and friends were suggestive of death. I felt that I was summoned to see a conquering hero crowned."

His last words were: "Oh, but it is so beautiful, so pleasant, so delightful! I see no river of death. God lifts me up in His arms. There is no darkness; it is all light and brightness. I am gliding away into God, floating up into heaven." With a final breath he proclaimed: "I believe in the resurrection of the body!"

-- when we stand and say together, "I believe in the resurrection of the body" -- we are proclaiming our belief in Jesus -- we are proclaiming that we trust in Jesus as our Lord and Savior -- we are proclaiming that we believe that God raised Him from the dead on the third day -- and we are proclaiming that we will be physically raised from the dead just as He was raised from the dead

-- as I close in prayer, I want to invite you to look at your own heart and see if you can make this same statement of belief in your life -- and, if not, to respond to God's word as you feel led
-- let us pray

SERMON: I BELIEVE IN THE FORGIVENESS OF SIN

Preached by Gregory W. Lee
27 April 2008

I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Psalm 32 --

1. Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
2. Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit.
3. When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.
4. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Selah
5. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD"-- and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah

-- this morning we are going to be continuing in our series on the Apostles Creed -- and we'll be looking at the next line in the creed, "I Believe in the Forgiveness of Sin"
-- when we proclaim in the creed, "I Believe in the Forgiveness of Sin," we are doing two things -- first, we are proclaiming that we believe in the power of God to forgive sin -- and, secondly, we are also proclaiming that sin is real -- that it is something in our lives and in this world -- and that it is something that needs to be forgiven

-- in Isaiah 5:20, the Bible says, "Woe to those who call evil good" -- and in our society today, that is exactly what we have been doing -- rarely will anyone call sin what it is -- we hide it under nice platitudes or we just don't talk about it for fear of offending someone
-- in the 1950's, C.S. Lewis pointed out that evangelism was difficult because people didn't recognize themselves as sinners or that they were doing anything wrong -- and I would contend that this situation has gotten progressively worse to our day
-- that's one reason why the prayer that Rev. Wright delivered in January 1996 to open the Kansas House of Representatives session for that year was met with such hostility -- let me share with you part of his prayer:

Heavenly Father -- We come before You today to ask Your Forgiveness and seek Your direction and guidance -- We know Your Word says, ''Woe to those who call evil good,'' but that's exactly what we have done -- We have lost our Spiritual equilibrium and inverted our values

-- We confess that we have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and called it pluralism
-- We have worshiped other gods and called it multiculturalism
-- We have endorsed perversion and called it an alternative lifestyle
-- We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery
-- We have neglected the needy and called it self preservation
-- We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare
-- We have killed our unborn and called it choice -- We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable
-- We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem
-- We have abused power and called it political savvy
-- We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition
-- We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression
-- And we have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment [SOURCE: http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/k/kansasprayer.htm]

-- What a great and remarkable prayer -- and what courage Rev. Wright had to stand up before the legislators in his state and name sin for what it is and then to ask God to forgive this nation for those very sins -- if anyone is interested in a copy of this prayer, let me know, and I'll be happy to send it to you
-- What Rev. Wright did in this prayer is exactly what we do when we stand up and recite the Apostle's Creed and say, "I believe in the forgiveness of sin" -- we are proclaiming the reality of sin and acknowledging that we are all sinners

-- as it says in Proverbs 20:9, "Who can say, "I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin"?" -- and in Romans 3:23, "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God"
-- when we proclaim the reality of sin and acknowledge that we are all sinners, it leads us to the obvious questions, "What is sin and where did sin come from?"

II. The Definition and Origin of Sin
-- so, what is sin? -- well, the Bible gives us several definitions of sin -- in 1 John 3:4, we are told that sin is lawlessness -- and in 1 John 5:17, we are told that all wrongdoing is sin
-- the Greek word for sin is harmatia -- it is an archery term that literally means, "missing the mark" -- falling short of God's standard
-- the story is told of two men who were trying to escape an erupting volcano -- as the fiery lava gushed out of the crater, they fled in the only direction open to them -- all went well until they came to a stream of hot, smoking lava about 30 feet across -- sizing up their situation, they realized that their only hope was to get across that wide barrier
-- one of the men was old -- the other was young and healthy -- with a running start, they each tried to leap to safety -- the first man went only a few feet in the air before falling into the lava -- the younger man, with his greater strength and skill, catapulted himself much farther -- though he almost made it, he still missed the mark -- it didn't matter that he out-distanced his companion, because he, too, fell into the lava and died
-- that is what sin is -- falling short of God's standard

-- but, where did it come from? -- the Bible is mostly silent on the origin of sin -- but most scholars agree that sin was the only thing that Satan ever created -- you know, we talk about how Satan can only counterfeit what God does -- how he cannot really create on his own -- but scholars believe that Satan created sin by giving in to his own evil desire to make himself greater than God
-- Ezekiel 28:14-17 recounts the steps that Satan took into sin -- you can either turn there with me or just listen as I read them

14. You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones.
15. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you.
16. Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, O guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones.
17. Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings.

-- Satan was created as Lucifer -- the "son of the morning" -- he was a guardian cherub -- blameless in all his ways -- until he became prideful of his position and desired to place his throne higher than God's -- at that point, God tells us that "wickedness was found in him" -- and Satan sinned and was thrown down to earth
-- that is how sin came to earth -- and that is how sin found its way to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden -- when Lucifer became Satan and came to earth, he spoke deception to Eve and tempted her to disobey God's commands concerning the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil -- and Eve gave in to that temptation -- she gave in to her desires to be like -- and sin was born into the world -- and along with sin, the consequences of sin followed

-- when we sin against God -- when we miss the mark and do wrong in our lives -- when we fail to follow God and instead choose to follow our own will -- there are consequences for our actions
-- one of the major consequences of sin is that it separates us from God -- Isaiah 59:2 says, "your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you"
-- Adam and Eve's sin caused them to be cast out of the Garden of Eden -- out of God's presence -- and into a world cursed through their actions
-- our sin puts a barrier between us and casts us out of God's presence
-- but it does more than that -- we have to pay the consequences of our sins here on earth -- there is always a price to sin -- for one moment of indulgence, we amass a fortune in debt that has to be paid
-- all we have to do is look around us or to look at the news to see the consequences of sin in our lives -- broken homes -- hurting families -- addictions to alcohol and drugs -- crime -- violence -- despair -- the signs of sin are all around us -- and it exacts a heavy price on our bodies and soul
-- Psalm 32 is David's instruction for us on sin -- it recounts his experience with the consequences of sin in his life after he had sinned with Bathsheba and had Uriah killed
-- look at verse 3 again

3. When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.
4. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Selah

-- David tried to hide his sin -- he tried to keep it silent -- but the consequences of sin shouted through his pain -- David says that his bones wasted away -- that he groaned all day long -- the physical anguish of his guilt and pain affected him greatly
-- God's conviction was upon him -- and David's strength and vitality were sapped away
-- and just like David, the consequences of sin weigh heavy upon our souls -- they affect us greatly -- David warns us here of the consequences that he faced so that we might not be tempted to give in to sin and suffer the effects of our sin

III. Confession and Forgiveness of Sin
-- but, thankfully, the story of sin doesn't end there
-- look back at verse 1

1. Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
2. Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit.

-- David says, "Blessed is the man whose transgressions are forgiven -- whose sins are covered"
-- as the old saying says, "He that falls into sin is a man -- He that grieves at sin is a saint -- He that boasts of sin is a devil -- He that forgives our sin is God" -- in Psalm 51:4 we read that all of our sins are against God -- and so only God can forgive sin
-- we see the same thing in Mark 2:7 when the teachers of the law rightly said, "Only God can forgive sins" when Jesus told the paralytic man, "Your sins are forgiven" -- they just didn't know who they were talking to
-- forgiveness can only come from God, but forgiveness is not free -- a just and righteous and holy God demands that the penalty for sin be paid before forgiveness can be offered
-- and, since there was no way that we could pay the price of sin -- God did the only thing He could -- He came Himself to take our place and pay the penalty for our sin with His own body and blood on the cross of Calvary
-- Isaiah 53:4-5 says, "Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted -- But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed"
-- and 1 Peter 2:24 says, "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. "
-- because Jesus took our sins on Himself -- because He became sin for us and paid the penalty for our sins -- David tells us in these verses that our transgressions and our sins are forgiven -- they are covered by the blood of Jesus -- but only if we believe in Jesus' atoning death on the cross and trust in Him for our salvation
-- look down at verse 5

5. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD"-- and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah

-- David says that we have to acknowledge our sins to God -- we have to confess our sins to Him -- God already knows what you did -- He has already seen it -- He has already felt it -- He knows that you have separated yourself from Him by your actions
-- that is why God called out to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden after they sinned, "Where are you?" -- He wasn't talking about their physical location -- He was talking about their heart's location -- their heart was distant -- it was separated from Him because they had disobeyed Him and sinned against Him

-- when we confess our sins to God, we aren't telling Him a secret -- we aren't telling Him something that He doesn't already know -- what we are doing is admitting to ourselves what God already knows -- that we have sinned against Him -- that we have missed the mark -- that we have separated ourselves from Him -- but that we don't want to stay that way any longer
-- David says, "I confessed my transgressions to the Lord" -- and God forgave him for his sins
-- the Apostle John tells us the same thing in 1 John 1:9 -- "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and will purify us from all unrighteousness"

IV. Closing
-- One night in a church service, a young woman felt the tug of God at her heart -- and she responded to God's call and accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior
-- the young woman had a very rough past, involving alcohol, drugs, and prostitution -- However, the change in her was evident right from the start
-- As time went on, she became a faithful member of the church -- She eventually became involved in the ministry, and taught the young children's Sunday School class
-- It was not very long until this faithful young woman had caught the eye and heart of the pastor's son -- Their relationship grew and they began to make wedding plans -- and this is when the problems began
-- You see, about half of the church did not think that a woman with a past such as hers was suitable for the pastor's son -- while the other half disagreed -- so, the church began to argue and fight about the matter.
-- eventually, they decided to have a meeting -- As the people made their arguments and tensions increased, the meeting was getting completely out of hand
-- The young woman became very upset about all the things being brought up about her past, and she started to sob deeply
-- As she began to cry, the pastor's son stood up and asked to speak -- he could not bear the pain this meeting and this division in their church was causing his fiance -- and he began to speak -- "My fiancé's past is not what is on trial here -- What you are questioning is the ability of the blood of Jesus to wash away sin -- Today you have put the blood of Jesus on trial -- and the question before us is, "does it wash away sin or not?"

-- when we recite the Apostle's Creed and say, "I believe in the forgiveness of sins," we are proclaiming our faith in the power of Jesus' blood to wash away sin -- we are proclaiming our faith in the mercy and grace of God to forgive us for our sins
-- we are proclaiming that we believe in the reality and power of sin in our lives -- and that we know that God's grace is greater than all our sins
-- when we stand up and say, "I believe in the forgiveness of sins," we are announcing to the world that we believe that Jesus paid the penalty for all of our sins on the cross of Calvary -- and that everyone can experience the deep cleansing and purification that comes through confession and forgiveness and faith in Him

-- as we close this morning, I want to invite you to examine your heart and see if there are sins in your life that need to be confessed and forgiven -- maybe some of you have never turned to Jesus for salvation and the forgiveness of sins -- maybe you've been explaining away your sins -- not thinking them of any great consequence -- not knowing that you're going to have to leap a chasm of burning lava
-- if that's the case, then I want to invite you to come to Jesus this morning -- to ask Him to forgive you of your sins -- and to trust in His death and resurrection for eternal life with Him
-- maybe others of you have been saved -- you have felt the cleansing power of Jesus' blood -- but you have drifted away -- you have let sin creep into your life -- if that's the case, then I want to invite you to come again before the cleansing flow and ask Jesus to forgive you
-- whatever your need, I want to invite you to respond to God's word as you feel led
-- let us pray

SERMON: I BELIEVE IN THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

Preached by Gregory W. Lee
20 April 2008

I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to 1 Corinthians 11

17. In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good.
18. In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it.
19. No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God's approval.
20. When you come together, it is not the Lord's Supper you eat,
21. for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk.
22. Don't you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you for this? Certainly not!
23. For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread,
24. and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me."
25. In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me."
26. For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
27. Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.
28. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup.
29. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.
30. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.
31. But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment.
32. When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.
33. So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for each other.
34. If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment. And when I come I will give further directions.

-- when little kids come up for communion, I try to change what I say from "the blood of Christ shed for you" to "take this juice and know that Jesus loves you" -- well, I read about this little 2-1/2 year old girl that went to church and had communion for the first time ever, and her pastor did the same thing -- when she went up to take the bread, he knelt down to her level, gave her the bread, and said, "God be with you"
-- apparently, this made a big impression on this little girl -- at lunch that day, they were having sandwiches -- so she took a piece of bread from her sandwich and told her mother to cup her hands and bend down -- when her mother did that, the little girl put the bread in her hands and whispered in her ear with her most angelic voice, "God will get you"

-- maybe this little girl misunderstood what the pastor had said, but she hit the nail on the head when it comes to the way a lot of us approach communion -- out of all that we do in the church, the sacrament of communion is one that never ceases to amaze me -- it is the one act that we do together as a body of believers that elicits more fear and misunderstanding than anything else
-- I have actually seen grown men get up and run for the back door when the bread and wine were uncovered on the altar
-- what is it about this simple act of sharing bread and wine that elicits such a response? -- what is it about this simple act that causes such fear and misunderstanding?
-- I think it is because we know, in our heart of hearts, that there is a great power and mystery imbedded in this sacrament -- that in the act of sharing together the Lord's Supper -- in joining as one to share the bread and the wine -- that we are ushered into the living presence of the Lord and it literally shakes us to our core

-- this morning, we are going to continue in our series on the Apostle's Creed -- and we are going to look at the next line in the creed, "I believe in the communion of saints"
-- last week, we talked about what it means when we say we believe in the holy catholic church -- how we believe that all Christians are joined together through the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit into one body -- the church of Christ
-- and as part of that message, we talked about how this holy catholic church includes the saints who have died and gone on before us -- the cloud of witnesses mentioned in Hebrews Chapter 12 and who are included in this phrase, "the communion of saints"
-- today, we are going to look at another aspect of this communion of the saints -- the mystical joining of believers into the body of Christ through the sacrament of holy communion

II. Scripture Lesson
-- before we look again at this passage from 1 Corinthians 11, let me share with you a couple of thoughts about the importance of communion -- I read one time about this couple who were running late to church -- and when they walked in through the back door, they looked up and saw that the altar was set for communion -- they turned to each other and said, "Great, we rushed here for another communion service"
-- out of all that we do in the church, there is little that is as sacred and as moving as holy communion -- in this act, we enter into a sacred moment with the Lord God Almighty
-- during this sacrament, the grace of God is poured out on us as we remember again the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior on our behalf -- how Jesus died on the cross and gave His very own body and blood to save us from hell
-- during this sacrament, we are bound together as one -- when we share in the Lord's Supper -- when we share our common experience of salvation through Christ -- we are joined together again as one body without division -- we become the church, and all the things that might separate us in the eyes of the world -- race, nationality, gender, social status, class -- these all cease to exist when God's grace comes to us through this sacrament
-- and during this sacrament, we are making a bold statement of faith -- by participating in holy communion, we are proclaiming to a watching world that we believe in Christ Jesus -- that we trust in Him and Him alone for our salvation -- and we witness to His continuing presence in our lives

-- let me give you another example of the way communion is important to us -- you might remember that last August, the I-35 bridge in Minneapolis collapsed killing thirteen people and injuring many others -- As engineers tried to find out why this eight-lane bridge failed, they noted one key component -- When the bridge was completed in 1967, "redundancy" was not a federal requirement -- In engineering, redundancy means that you double-up on supports to ensure safety -- for example, if you only need one bolt to hold a support in place, you actually use two bolts instead -- that way, if one bolt fails the other bolt can still keep the bridge standing -- in this case, the 1900-foot bridge in Minneapolis was not built with redundancy -- and when one part failed, the whole bridge collapsed
-- the sacrament of communion is a form of redundancy in the church -- it allows our relationships and our bonds with each other to be strengthened and renewed on a regular basis -- it imparts to us God's grace and the presence of the Holy Spirit on a regular basis -- and it makes it so that if one of us starts to fall -- if one of us starts to fail -- the rest of us can hold them up and keep them strong
-- through holy communion, we become the church at its best -- for that reason, we should never regard the sharing of the Lord's Supper as "just another communion service"

-- let's look back at this passage and discuss a few of the major points -- look back at verse 17

17. In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good.
18. In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it.
19. No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God's approval.
20. When you come together, it is not the Lord's Supper you eat,
21. for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk.
22. Don't you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you for this? Certainly not!

-- in this passage, Paul is rebuking the church at Corinth for the way they were participating in the Lord's Supper
-- in the early days of the church, they would come together on the Lord's Day -- on Sunday and would share a meal together -- kind of like a covered dish dinner -- and, then, following the meal, they would participate in holy communion just like we practice it -- with the sharing of the bread and the wine
-- the church at Corinth was coming together for this sacred meal, but they were not treating it as sacred -- they would come to the supper -- called the agape meal or love feast -- and there was no sharing -- some would bring a lot of food or a lot of wine and wouldn't share with the others
-- and this was causing division in the body of believers -- it was separating people into classes -- those who had the money or the status to bring food and wine -- and those who did not -- Paul was saying, "This is not the way it should be -- this sacrament was given to the church to unite us -- to make us one -- to remove from us the divisions of the world -- but yet when you celebrate the Lord's Supper, you are causing these divisions in the church"

-- verse 23

23. For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread,
24. and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me."
25. In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me."
26. For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

-- Paul reminds them that the Lord's Supper was started as a means of remembering Christ -- of remembering our shared experiences in Christ -- so that when we celebrate communion, we might be joined afresh with Him and with each other -- so that these very divisions that exist outside the church should be erased and that we would truly be Christ's body on earth

-- verse 27

27. Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.
28. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup.
29. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.
30. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.
31. But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment.
32. When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.

-- in a stinging rebuke to the church at Corinth, Paul told them that they were taking communion in an unworthy manner -- that instead of coming together as one body -- instead of being infused with the living presence of God and becoming renewed and refreshed as His church -- they were actually creating division in the church and were weakening the church and their proclamation of faith in Christ
-- Paul tells them in verse 28 that they should examine themselves before they participate in holy communion -- now don't misunderstand what Paul is saying here -- verses 27 and 28 have been used in harmful ways to keep people from the Lord's table by making them feel unworthy, and that's not Paul's intent here

-- Tony Campolo wrote about an experience he had as a young boy during a communion service --the pastor had read these verses about not taking communion in an unworthy manner -- and as the church started sharing communion by passing the bread and wine among the pews, a young woman in the pew in front of him began to weep -- as the bread was passed her way, she waved it away and lowered her head in despair
-- Campolo's father leaned over the pew and spoke to her sternly, "Take it, girl! It was meant for you. Do you hear me?" -- she nodded her head and then reached for the bread and shared in communion with the church
-- Paul's rebuke here does not mean that we have to be clean and sinless to share in the Lord's Table -- Communion is a powerful reminder that God's grace is greater than our sin, and by sharing in holy communion, we are renewed and refreshed with the living presence of the Lord God Almighty Himself -- the sacrament of communion was made for people like this young woman -- for people like you and like me
-- Paul was not saying that the people had to clean themselves up before they came to the Lord's Table -- Paul was trying to get the people in Corinth to look at their hearts -- to look at their motives -- as they came before the Lord in this sacrament
-- some in the church of Corinth were approaching holy communion -- not as a sacred moment with God -- not as a time for the church to be strengthened and renewed as one body of believers -- not as a means of grace -- but as a meaningless ritual
-- they were going through the motions without fully understanding why they were doing it -- and Paul was condemning them for turning this sacrament into just another meaningless religious act

-- verse 33

33. So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for each other.
34. If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment. And when I come I will give further directions.

-- Paul points the believers at Corinth back to the way communion binds us together and reunites us as one body and as one believer -- "Don't take communion in this way -- don't take it in such as way that you forget the others -- don't be selfish -- but wait for the others -- join with them as you join with the Lord"

III. Closing
-- holy communion should be a sacred moment with God -- a time when we come before God in remembrance of what Christ did and continues to do for us -- a reminder of Jesus' death on the cross -- of His presence in our lives -- and of the blessed hope we have of His coming again
-- communion should be a time of holiness and reflection -- a time when we recognize the presence of God and the grace that He imparts to us as we take the bread and the cup
-- as Paul pointed out in this passage, we need to examine ourselves and our motives before we take communion -- we need to make sure that we enter into this time knowing that it is not just another religious act, but a truly sacred moment with God -- a time when we are joining together with all the saints to proclaim to the world a living Savior -- to proclaim His presence in our lives and in our world -- and to proclaim that we are one body and one people -- united and created in Him to serve the world
-- when we share in holy communion with one another and with God, we are proclaiming with our actions, "I believe in God and I believe in the communion of saints"
-- I'm going to close in prayer and we'll go ahead and sing our last hymn as I prepare the Lord's table -- as I pray, I want to invite you to examine yourselves this morning and to prepare to celebrate Christ as we share in this sacrament together
-- I just want to remind everyone that in the Methodist Church we recognize this as the Lord's table and not ours -- and His table is open to all who would come with sincere and seeking hearts
-- let us pray

SERMON: I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH

Preached by Gregory W. Lee
13 April 2008

I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Ephesians 5


22. Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.
23. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.
24. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
25. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her
26. to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,
27. and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.
28. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
29. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church--
30. for we are members of his body.
31. "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh."
32. This is a profound mystery--but I am talking about Christ and the church.
33. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.


-- there is a made-up story that described Jesus returning to heaven after He had lived here on earth -- as soon as Jesus got back up there, the angels all gathered around Him to find out about all the things that had happened while He had been down here
-- Jesus explained to the angels how He lived among people, shared His teachings -- expressed His love -- died on the cross to atone for humanity's sins -- and was resurrected to declare that the new Kingdom was at hand
-- when He finished telling His story, Michael the archangel asked the Lord, "What happens now"
-- Jesus replied, "I left behind a handful of faithful men and women -- they will tell the story -- they will express the love -- they will spread the Kingdom"
-- "But, what if they fail?" Michael asked -- "What then will be the plan?"
-- Jesus answered, "There is no other plan"

-- the title of my message this morning is, "I believe in the holy catholic church" -- maybe you never thought about it before, but the church is the only thing that Jesus left behind on earth
-- despite all of Jesus' teachings -- despite all the wonderful words that He preached -- Jesus never wrote anything down -- the only time the scriptures tell us that Jesus wrote is when He scribbled in the sand while the Pharisees brought the adulterous woman before Him
-- there are no manuscripts left behind that He wrote -- no letters to His believers -- no wood carvings showing the path to glory
-- the only thing that Jesus left behind -- other than His words and His teachings -- was the church -- the church is the only physical reminder that Jesus was ever on earth because it was all part of His plan
-- it was Jesus' plan to reach creation with the good news of the cross through the church -- it was Jesus' plan to transform and change the world through the church
-- all of Christianity hinges on the success or failure of the church of Christ
-- so, this morning, I want to spend some time looking at the holy catholic church that Jesus established as we continue in our series on the Apostles' Creed

II. The Church
-- so, what is the church? -- what are we talking about when we talk about the church of Christ?
-- well, the first thing that we have to know is that the church is not a building -- a lot of times, that's the only way we refer to it -- we have people stop by and they tell me, "I like your church," but what they're talking about is our church building -- our sanctuary -- and that's not the church
-- I heard an advertisement one time on the radio -- this guy was asking a preacher, "Where's your church?" -- and the preacher replied, "Well, Janet lives over on Oak Street -- and Bob's family lives on Main Street -- and several of our families live in that neighborhood across the street"
-- the man was wanting to find out where the church building was located -- but the preacher was making a point -- the church is not a building -- the church is not a location -- the church is something entirely different
-- look back at verse 22

22. Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.
23. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.

-- Paul tells us that the church is the body of Christ -- and that Jesus Himself is the head of the church
-- we see that analogy used many times in Scripture -- in Ephesians Chapter 1, Colossians Chapter 1, 1 Corinthians Chapter 10, and Romans Chapter 12, Paul tells us that the church is the body of Christ
-- but what does that mean?

-- if you would, hold your place right here but flip back over to 1 Corinthians 12, to a passage that we looked at just a few weeks ago

12. The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.
13. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free--and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
14. Now the body is not made up of one part but of many.

-- what Paul is trying to get us to see with his analogy of the body is that each individual person -- every single person who comes to Christ -- who trusts in Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins -- is just one part -- one member -- of a new and complete organism -- the body of Christ
-- it takes many different parts to make up your body -- your hands -- your arms -- your feet -- your torso -- your face -- your nose -- all your internal organs -- all your cells -- millions and millions of tiny parts
-- and just like all of those things combine to make your complete and individual body -- all of the people who have been saved by Christ are individual parts that come together to form a new body -- the church

-- some of you might say, "Well, then, there's no difference between the church and any other club -- a club has many different members and they all come together to form the club or the organization"
-- but there is a difference -- Paul tells us in this passage in Ephesians that the body of Christ is different from all other organisms and from all other bodies because Jesus is the head of the church -- and that makes all the difference in the world

-- let me carry Paul's analogy a little farther to show you what I mean
-- every part of your body shares the same DNA -- if you were to look at a cell from your arm and compare it with a cell from your heart -- you would find the same DNA -- a scientist could look at a cell from any place in your body and tell, without a doubt, that it belongs only to you -- your DNA is what makes you different and unique from all other bodies
-- there is one thing that separates Christians from non-Christians and that makes us different and unique from all other bodies and all other organizations -- and that is the living presence of God within us in the person of the Holy Spirit
-- the Holy Spirit becomes for us spiritual DNA that make us one -- that binds us together -- and that joins us for all eternity
-- so, that means that if you look at me, you will see the Holy Spirit -- and if you travel half-way around the world -- and find a believer in China and look at them -- you will find that same Holy Spirit
-- we are separate parts -- separate members -- but we share spiritual DNA -- we share the Holy Spirit -- and so we are actually part of the same body

31. "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh."
32. This is a profound mystery--but I am talking about Christ and the church.
33. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

-- Paul is trying to make the same point here -- the Bible teaches that when a man and woman unite in holy matrimony -- when they become married -- they actually become one flesh
-- well, in the same way, all of the parts of the church -- every individual believer who is indwelt with the Holy Spirit -- join together to become one flesh -- one body
-- this is different from any other organization or club -- I don't care how close you might get with your friends in the Lion's Club or the Kennel Club or the Chess Club or whatever club you might belong to -- you are not physically or spiritually joined with them -- there is nothing that unites you and makes you truly one flesh or one body -- you don't share the same DNA
-- but, in the body of Christ, all the different members are united to become one body through the presence of the Holy Spirit with Christ Jesus as our head
-- that is what we are saying we believe when we say, "I believe in the church"

III. The Catholic Church
-- but what do we mean when we say that we believe in the "catholic" church?
-- the word catholic has caused more misunderstanding than any other term in this whole Apostles' Creed
-- I was at a Walk to Emmaus one time, and at that retreat we all join together and say the Apostle's Creed and then share in Holy Communion -- we actually had one person walk out of the room when we started saying that creed
-- one of the other spiritual directors went out with him and asked him what was going on -- and he said that he didn't want anything to do with the Catholic Church -- he had misunderstood what this word means
-- if you look at the Apostle's Creed in your hymnal or if you look up the word "Catholic" in a dictionary, you'll see that the word means "universal" -- it doesn't refer to any branch or denomination of Christianity
-- when we recite, "I believe in the holy catholic church" -- we aren't talking about the church in Rome -- we aren't talking about the Pope -- we are talking about the church universal -- the worldwide church of believers in Christ

-- what we're talking about here is the true body of Christ -- all of the different parts -- all of the different members -- all of those with the same spiritual DNA and with the same Holy Spirit -- who are joined together through Christ to form His body
-- it doesn't matter if you're Methodist or Baptist or Presbyterian or Episcopalian or non-denominational -- it doesn't matter what you call yourself -- if you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior -- if you are trusting Him for your salvation and for the forgiveness of your sins -- then you are all part of one body -- of one church -- the catholic, universal church
-- one body -- one church -- the catholic, universal church

-- and this includes all of those who have ever believed, living or dead -- that's what the next line in the creed stands for -- it says, "I believe in the communion of saints"
-- now a saint is nothing more than someone who believes in Jesus -- a person is not a saint because the Pope says they are -- a person is a saint because they have been saved by Jesus -- if you want to start calling yourself by the title, "Saint," then go right ahead -- you are biblically justified in that
-- the communion of saints -- in Latin, the Communio Sanctorum -- refers to the spiritual union of all Christians, living and dead, into one body with Christ as its head
-- what this means is that those who have died and gone on before are still part of the church of Christ -- the cloud of witnesses that Hebrews 12 talks about who surround us and whose faith propel us to go forward in faithfulness and ministry to Christ
-- they are the church invisible -- those who have gone ahead -- while we who are here are the living church -- the church visible
-- together, we all make up the catholic -- universal -- church
-- that is what we mean when we say, "I believe in the catholic church and the communion of saints"

IV. The Holy Catholic Church
-- but what about the whole phrase, "I believe in the holy catholic church?" -- what does the word "holy" bring into the mix?
-- look back at verse 25 in Ephesians 5

25. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her
26. to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,
27. and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.

-- the word "holy" means "to set apart," "to sanctify" -- "To cleanse and make pure"
-- these verses tell us that Jesus loved the church and gave himself up for her -- dying on the cross in our place so that He might make the church holy and blameless -- without stain or wrinkle

-- when we proclaim that we believe in the holy catholic church, we are proclaiming that we believe in the finished work of Christ on the cross and in the on-going work of the Holy Spirit as He sanctifies us and continues to make us more and more like Christ
-- this word "holy" also speaks to our purpose -- the reason He created us in the first place -- Jesus set us apart and sanctified us for the work that He has called us to do
-- the church exists for a reason -- to glorify Christ and to proclaim the good news to the world around us -- this includes witnessing to people -- telling them about Jesus -- and this includes ministering to them -- meeting their needs as parts of Jesus' body -- being His hands and His feet in this world -- reaching out to people with His love so that they might respond to His word and be saved
-- this is what we mean when we say, "I believe in the holy catholic church and the communion of saints"

V. Closing
-- there once was a college student who was struggling in many areas in his life -- he spent a great deal of his time feeling angry and frustrated -- finally, he couldn't stand it any longer -- so, he got up and went to the little chapel on campus that very few people ever visited
-- he paced up and down the aisles -- slapping the back of the empty pews -- he yelled -- he cried -- and he raged at God
-- "God, you created this world -- what could you have possibly been thinking? -- look at the problems in this world -- look at the pain and the suffering and the hunger -- look at the neglect -- the waste -- the abuse -- Everywhere I look, I see messed-up people -- hurting people -- lonely people"
-- this went on for a long time as the student ranted on and on and on
-- finally, exhausted, the student sat in the front pew and looked hopelessly at the cross -- its tarnished surface reflected the dusty sunlight filtering in through the stained glass windows
-- "It's all such a mess -- this world you created is nothing but a terrible mess -- why I could make a world better than this one"
-- and then, in the silence of that dusty, deserted chapel, the young man heard a voice that made his eyes open wide and his jaw drop
-- "And that is exactly what I want you to do."

-- that is why God created the church -- that is why He built it with His very own body and blood -- why He loved it into being -- and breathed into it His very presence
-- as God's church -- as members of the holy, catholic church of God, we have been called to be the hands and feet of Jesus -- we have been called to minister the presence and the message of Jesus to a broken and hurting world
-- I believe in the holy catholic church -- I believe in the communion of saints -- and I believe that God can use us to change lives and transform hearts and turn this world around
-- the church is not a building -- it is not a location -- it is you and me and all the other saints in this place and around this world
-- what is the church? -- the body of Christ
-- who is the church? -- we are
-- and who will leave this place -- who will go forth and answer the call of Christ -- to be part of His body -- to be His hands and feet in this world -- ministering in His name to those around us? -- only you can answer that question
-- let us pray

SERMON: I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY SPIRIT

Preached by Gregory W. Lee
6 April 2008

I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to John 16

7. But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.
8. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment:
9. in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me;
10. in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer;
11. and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.
12. "I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear.
13. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.
14. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.
15. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.

-- In 2007, life in the African country of Malawi changed dramatically -- for a long time, this country had hovered on the brink of famine and survived only because they received food and resources from other countries -- but in 2007, things changed -- in 2007, Malawi sold more corn to the U.N. World Food Program than any other country in southern Africa and also exported tons of corn to Zimbabwe
-- how did this happen? -- how did this country go from being a welfare state to a country that was not only self-sustaining but was capable of reaching out and exporting food to other nations? -- the answer is quite simple -- the dramatic change came from nothing more than fertilizer
-- Malawi's president got tired of begging for charity so he pushed for the expanded use of fertilizer and fertilizer subsidies -- the government encouraged the farmers to start using fertilizer, and it made all the difference -- now the nation is not only feeding its own people, but helping other nations as well -- their once depleted soil has become a source of renewed life and livelihood -- and Malawi is not just a consumer, but also a major producer1
-- for those of us who are seeking to become disciples of Christ, the same principle that Malawi used applies -- adding spiritual fertilizer to our lives can move us from famine to feast -- from being consumers -- people who just take up space in the pews -- to being producers -- people who multiply and who produce fruit for the kingdom of God
-- Jesus knew of our tendency to become complacent -- to become stagnant -- to become routine in our spiritual lives -- this has been a problem in the church all the way back to the days of Moses -- it causes us to trade in vibrant spiritual lives for the dryness of religion -- it causes us to trade in knowing God in a real and personal way to just being satisfied going through the motions on a Sunday morning
-- Jesus knew that we were going to need His continual presence in our lives to keep our soil productive -- He knew that we were going to need the constant inflowing of His life into ours to help us be true disciples -- and so He sent us spiritual fertilizer -- He sent us the Holy Spirit

-- this morning, we are going to start a series of messages on the foundations of our faith as recognized in the Apostle's Creed -- having just come through Christmas and Easter, we are not going to focus on the first paragraph of the creed, which covers our belief in the Lord God Almighty and in Christ Jesus -- I think that our messages through the Christmas and Easter seasons quite clearly fleshed out our belief in the Father and the Son -- the first two persons of the Holy Trinity
-- instead, I want us to focus on the second paragraph, which primarily concerns itself with the work of the Holy Spirit in calling us to salvation and sanctification and in building the church of Christ
-- so, we are going to start by considering the first phrase in this second paragraph, "I Believe in the Holy Spirit"

II. The Holy Spirit
-- when I talk to people about God, nothing seems to confuse them more than the idea of the Holy Spirit -- growing up, it seemed to me like no one ever talked about the Spirit -- and when they did, they called Him the "Holy Ghost," which just made it all the more confusing and mystical
-- when you're 7-years-old and the preacher is saying you need the Holy Ghost, I can tell you, that's the last thing that you want in your life -- I was always scared of ghosts -- holy or not -- and I sure didn't want one hanging around with me day in and day out
-- But, thankfully, if the past 20 years or so, there has been a revival of sorts in the understanding of this third person of the Trinity -- in the presence and purpose and power of the Holy Spirit -- people now have a better understanding of the Holy Spirit -- and it has made a big difference in our churches and in our ministries and in our individual spiritual lives
-- so, who is the Holy Spirit? -- well, as I said, He is the third person of the Trinity -- now, don't misunderstand what the Trinity is -- there are three persons, but there are not three gods -- there is only one God -- each person in the Trinity is distinct in function, but they share the same deity and reflect the attributes of the one living God
-- this means that the Holy Spirit is fully and completely God -- just as the Father and the Son are fully and completely God -- it is perfectly acceptable to pray to the Holy Spirit just as you pray to Jesus or to the Father
-- the Holy Spirit is not just a force or a power like some denominations and some cults teach -- He is not impersonal or unthinking -- the Holy Spirit is a person, just like Jesus -- just not in a physical body -- He is a living being -- the very presence of God in our lives
-- I like the way A.W. Tozer explained the Holy Spirit in his book, "The Counselor," -- Tozer wrote: "Spell this out in capital letters: THE HOLY SPIRIT IS A PERSON -- He is not enthusiasm -- He is not courage -- He is not energy -- He is not the personification of all good qualities, like Jack Frost is the personification of cold weather -- Actually, the Holy Spirit is not the personification of anything...... He has individuality -- He is one being and not another -- He has will and intelligence -- He has hearing -- He has knowledge and sympathy and ability to love and see and think -- He can hear, speak, desire, grieve and rejoice -- He is a Person."
-- the Holy Spirit has intellect, emotion, and will -- He speaks to us -- He has feelings -- He can love -- He can be grieved -- He can be hurt -- He has all the characteristics of God because He is God -- He is all-knowing -- all-present -- and all-powerful
-- but as the third person of the Trinity, He has specific roles and functions in our lives and in the life of the church --this is what I want us to look at in this passage

III. Scripture Lesson
-- this passage covers the Thursday night of Holy Week -- Maundy Thursday -- the day that Jesus and His disciples shared the Last Supper in the Upper Room and the day that He was betrayed by Judas Iscariot and turned over to the High Priest and the Romans
-- as this passage opens, the last supper is over -- Jesus has washed the feet of the disciples -- Judas has left to go to the temple to betray Him -- and now Jesus and His remaining disciples are making their way to the Garden of Gethsemene, which is located on the western base of the Mount of Olives
-- as they are walking along, Jesus is sharing with them His final instructions and His final teachings to help them understand what is about to happen and what it means for the Kingdom of God -- He has told them that He is going away and that this is the plan of God the Father -- and to calm their fears and to make sure they understand that He will never leave them or forsake them, He shares with them now a teaching about the coming of the Holy Spirit

-- if you would, look back with me again at verse 7

7. But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.

-- the disciples were distraught at what Jesus had been telling them -- they couldn't understand why He was leaving -- they didn't understand why He was saying that He had to die -- don't forget, the disciples are still living on the mountain of Palm Sunday -- they are still expecting Jesus to start a revolution and conquer Rome at any moment -- they have no idea that Good Friday is coming -- they have no idea what Jesus means when He says that He must die and then rise again on the third day
-- this is a man that they had lived with for three years -- a man that they knew intimately -- a man that they knew was from God -- some of them, I am sure, thought He was God at that time, even though they did not have a full understanding
-- so Jesus is trying to encourage them -- to lift up their heads -- to help them see that things are really going to be better when He leaves
-- "When I leave, I will send the Counselor to you -- He cannot come while I am here -- but when I go to the Father, I will send Him to you" -- the Greek word that Jesus uses here is "paraclete" -- it means counselor, comforter, advocate, and helper
-- these were all roles that the Holy Spirit had performed in the past in the lives of God's chosen people as He would come upon them -- men like Moses and David and Samson -- but in the times before Jesus, the Holy Spirit would only come and rest on them as they served God's special purposes and accomplished His will
-- this anointing of the Holy Spirit could be taken from them -- that is why David wrote in Psalm 51:11 after he sinned with Bathsheba and killed her husband, "Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me."
-- the difference this time is that the Comforter -- the Holy Spirit -- would not just come upon the believers of Jesus for a temporary time -- but would instead indwell them -- as it says in John 14:17, the Holy Spirit lives with and within believers -- filling them with the very presence and power of God in their lives
-- when you are saved -- when you respond to Jesus' invitation to come to Him for salvation and the forgiveness of sin -- at that moment, the Holy Spirit comes to live within you
-- that is why Jesus said it was good for the disciples and us that He was physically going away -- this way, the Holy Spirit would be a part of our lives at all moments and at all times -- when Jesus was on earth, God incarnate in a human body, He was bound in one place at a time -- He could not be in multiple places -- but in the person of the Holy Spirit -- living in us -- He could

-- verse 8

8. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment:

-- as our paraclete -- as our Counselor and Comforter and Advocate -- these are the three overarching purposes of the Holy Spirit -- the roles and functions that God intended the Holy Spirit fulfill in us and in the life of the church as He worked in us and through us to accomplish His will
-- the reason the Holy Spirit has come is to convict the world -- to point out its guilt -- in respect to sin, righteousness, and judgment -- so that the world might respond in faith and repentance to the finished work of Jesus Christ for us all
-- in a nutshell, the Holy Spirit has come to empower the witness of Christ on earth among non-believers -- using us -- His church -- as His voice and His hands and His feet to reach out to a people who desperately need the grace of God in their lives

-- verse 9

9. in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me;

-- the Holy Spirit has come to convict the world of its sin of unbelief -- the Holy Spirit is here to speak in counter to those people who tell us that there are many paths to God -- who tell us that all religions lead to God -- Jesus says here that it is a sin to not believe in Him -- to not recognize and trust in Him and His saving grace for our salvation and the forgiveness of sins

-- verse 10

10. in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer;

-- the Holy Spirit has come to convict us that Jesus is the righteousness of God -- our tendency is to compare ourselves to others -- to think that we are doing o.k. because we are more righteousness than those around us -- "I go to church more than so-and-so, so I know I am going to heaven"
-- but Jesus came to show us God's standard of righteousness -- complete and total sinlessness -- life without any sin at all -- holy perfection -- and then He fulfilled that requirement of righteousness with His own body and blood on the cross
-- Romans 10:3-4 says, "Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. -- Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes."
-- the Holy Spirit convicts us -- He opens our eyes and pricks our hearts to this truth

-- verse 11

11. and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

-- the Holy Spirit has come to convict us of the fact that the power of Satan has been broken -- that the curse of sin and death on all creation has been lifted -- and that judgment has come to the unrighteous
-- the Holy Spirit has come to let the people who are still living in this chains of sin know that there is a hope and a future in Christ Jesus

-- verse 12

12. "I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear.
13. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.
14. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.
15. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.

-- the Holy Spirit has come to speak the truth of God in our lives and in the lives of this world -- leading us and those around us into the truth for the glory of Christ Jesus
-- His purpose is to lift Jesus up -- to proclaim the work of the Father through Jesus so that all might be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth
-- and He does it through us

IV. Closing
-- turn over to Romans 8

11. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.

-- in one of his books(2), Dr. Tony Campolo -- a well-known pastor and evangelist -- related a story about the time he was teaching a seminary class -- he turned to one of the young men in his class and asked him, "How long have you lived?"
-- the startled young man responded, "I'm 22 years old" -- Dr. Campolo responded, "I didn't ask you how long your heart had been pumping blood -- I asked you how long you had lived."
-- Dr. Campolo was trying to point out that there is a difference between living and being alive -- as St. Irenaeus said, "The glory of God is man fully alive" -- a person who is alive is doing more than just trudging through life -- just merely existing
--a person who is alive is doing more than just waking up in the morning -- going to work -- and then going to bed at night
-- a Christian who is alive is doing more than just getting up -- going to church -- and then going home again
-- to be fully alive means that you have been joined with the eternal -- that you have been given a glimpse of the presence of God -- in nature -- in people -- in your life -- and in that moment, you felt more truly alive than at any other time in your life
-- Dr. Campolo told about the time he had a moment in eternity at the top of the Empire State Building -- a time when he was caught up in the glory and the majesty of creation -- how looking over the edge of that building at creation was a moment in which he was so fully alive, so fully aware of the presence and the majesty and the glory of God, that he knew it would always be a part of him
-- after hearing that story, Campolo's student responded, "Then I guess I have only been alive for a few minutes -- it's hard to say -- most of my life has been the meaningless passage of time between all too few moments of genuine aliveness"
-- the Apostle Paul tells us in this verse that we have been made alive through the power of the Holy Spirit living within us -- that through Him we have become truly alive

-- J. B. Phillips wrote in, "Plain Christianity," "Every time we say, "I believe in the Holy Spirit," we mean that we believe that there is a living God able and willing to enter human personality and change it"
-- the reason we have been given the Holy Spirit is to change us -- to make us alive -- to make us like Christ -- to lead us into the full and abundant life that Jesus said He had come to give us -- and to make us better able to serve those around us
-- as we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we become more aware of God's presence in our lives -- more aware of those around us who need His touch and who need to hear the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ
-- and we become empowered to be His witnesses and to be Christ's hands and feet in this world -- changing it and changing those around us as we seek to follow Christ in all our ways

-- it is the Holy Spirit working in the life of the believer who changes the church -- and it is the Holy Spirit working in the life of the church who changes the world
-- every revival that has ever been seen -- every outpouring of the presence of God leading to repentance and salvation and life-transforming power has been through the direct work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of God's people
-- if you want to be truly alive -- if you want to experience revival in your life and in the life of this church -- then you must be filled with God's Holy Spirit -- not just indwelt -- but filled -- baptized in His presence
-- this means that you are filled with the joy and peace and presence of God -- that you are submissive to God and empowered to serve Him where He calls -- this means that you are living in faith -- not just on Sundays, but every day of your life
-- as John Piper points out, "this should be our aim, our goal, our great longing."3
-- it won't happen every day -- we won't go through life filled with the presence of the Holy Spirit -- but there will be those times when we are truly alive -- when we are experiencing eternity in our lives -- when we are empowered and filled to overflowing with the presence of God and are able to reach out and touch that one person -- to speak the words of grace that they need to hear -- to minister to their need and point them to Christ
-- it is those times that we should be living for -- striving for -- aiming for with our lives as we seek the Holy Spirit's presence
-- it is those times that we and the church were created for

-- I believe in the Holy Spirit -- I trust in His power and presence in our lives -- and I pray that we would be filled to overflowing with His goodness and grace so that we might be truly alive and serve God more effectively with our lives -- so that we might see revival break out in our homes and in our church and in our community -- so that we might see lives changed and hearts transformed for Christ
-- I believe in the Holy Spirit -- do you?
-- let us pray

1
2Campolo, Tony. Let Me Tell You a Story.
3Sermon, "Be Filled with the Spirit," by John Piper.