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Sermon for 03/09/08
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Lent Wk 5, No Such Thing As A Deathless Resurrection
John 11:1-45 (RW02)

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, AMEN

Main Theme: God’s ability to include us in His “resurrection” is often thwarted because of our refusal to face death, especially the death of our old sinful self. But God can not create a miracle or do a new thing in our lives until we come to understand that “A resurrection cannot occur until after a death.” In the presence of Christ, we need to let the “old Adam of Eve” within us go, be buried, and say our goodbyes, if we are to experience a new life, new hope, new faith. There is no such thing as a deathless resurrection.

1) HEAVEN? DIE? I’m going to ask you two questions and I want to see a raise of hands on each one. #1) How many of you want your children, spouses, nephews and nieces, loved ones and friends to go to heaven? That’s a definite yes! Now #2) How many of you want these loved ones …to die? Come on, where are the hands? Some of you are thinking – “Pastor! What an absurd thing to ask!!! Why would anyone want their loved ones to die?” Then let me put both questions together and ask you this: If you want your loved ones to go to heaven, (and you said you did), how can this happen if they never die?

2) DEATHLESS RESURRECTION! Undoubtedly, some of you are calling “foul” - that was a trick question. And others of you are processing and demanding to change your answers: “Well, OK Pastor, I guess every one dies sooner or later, even my loved ones. It’s just that life is a precious gift and I don’t want them to die prematurely. After a long full life, I pray they fall asleep peacefully at 105.” Others of you are thinking, “True everyone dies sooner or later, so when I said I don’t want them to die, I was really saying I just don’t want to experience the loss, grief, pain and suffering that comes from the separation death brings.” The fact is, we who have determined that God’s resurrection is a good thing – must face the fact that there is no such thing as “deathless resurrection.” Let me repeat that: “There is no such thing as a deathless resurrection!”

3) HEALING FIRST! Why bring that up? Because as much as we applaud resurrection many of us still fear death. Anything but death! Mary and Martha saw their brother Lazarus was dying – and their first instinct was to save him. They know there is only one person who has demonstrated time and time again that He has the power to heal the sick. So they send for Jesus. And we would do the same. In fact, we do the same! When our loved one’s are sick – we turn to the one with the power to heal and pray like we’ve never prayed before! Naturally the solution we seek first is healing!

4) LIFE=HOPE! If there is any other solution we spend little or no time thinking about it – our focus is solely on total healing! When the 911 emergency people arrive at the scene of the heart attack or accident, we watch their faces in fearful anticipation. We know that in the medical profession that if there is a faint heartbeat, the faintest breathe, there is hope of saving that person. That’s where the phrase “Where there’s life, there’s hope” came from. And we’re looking for signs of life so that our hope will stay alive.

5) DEATH=HOPE? But, Jesus, did not come. He could have dropped everything and rushed there – had he thought like we think – that “where there is life, there is hope.” But Jesus understood something we don’t always want to face – that when you are in the presence of God, even where there is death, there is hope. “Woe!”, we of little faith protest, “Where there is death, there is hope?! That’s crazy! Death is death! Death is final! Death results in pain and suffering for those left behind! How can you say, Where there is death – there is hope?”

6) MAKES SENSE! I guess it didn’t make any sense at all until the Son of God stands before the tomb and demands they roll away the stone… and out steps Lazarus still in his burial wrappings... alive! “Where death is, there is hope” is meaningless until you take another look at this Jesus and see what creative and redeeming power lies at His command. To say that “where there is death, there is hope” seems absurd until you begin to phantom the grace and unconditional love that makes up God’s nature. When Lazarus walked out of the tomb, alive again, then the unlikely combination of death and hope begins to make sense.

7) FIRST A DEATH! It’s earth shattering – mind blowing – deeply disturbing to realize that everything you believed in has just been altered forever by a miracle that defies reason and logic. Yet, there’s Lazarus, alive, and where there was death, there is now hope, and joy, and something new! Perhaps it’s true; you cannot have a resurrection until there is first a death.

8) HARD TO SWALLOW! Yet, initially this truth sits there like something you eat willingly but is still hard to digest. The resurrection is the easy part – we want it, we thrive on the “joy” and “blessings” each resurrection miracle creates. But the death part – it’s still hard to swallow. We’ve spent so much time avoiding death, running from death, denying death, cursing death… that it’s still hard to realize that Christ has the power to turn our “greatest enemy” into a “life-giving” resurrection. That is, it’s hard to swallow, until we experience it!

9) SPIRITUALLY DEAD! And you don’t have to be experiencing “physical” death to experience resurrection! A scholar I read recently said that we are either “growing in God’s grace, or we are dying in our sin.” There is no in-between or neutral place to be. Too many of us in this world who don’t know God, are “spiritually dead” in our sins. We are the “walking dead.” And Roman’s 6:23 tells us, “For the wages of sin is death…” Ouch! Is there any hope for the spiritually dead? Listen to the whole of Roman’s 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God, is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Don’t forget what we dared suggest earlier, “Where there is death, there is hope,” – around Jesus that is!!!

10) BAPTISM! As uneasy as it feels to us at first, “Before the lost and broken can be resurrected, there must first be a death.” There are no “deathless resurrections.” So before we can become a new person, the old person must perish. Before we can become a new Creature in Christ, we must allow the old sinful “Adam” and “Eve” within us to be drowned! And on the day of your baptism that happened! Of course, the old Adam and Eve never go away for long - they keep raising their ugly heads up every day. But every time we are moved to pray and ask forgiveness they die again, and we are forgiven, and made pure and holy. Drowning the old sinful self is a daily on-going Baptismal process.

11) LOVE THE OLD ADAM!!! Knowing this, you would think we would be praying constantly through out our daily routines. But we don’t. As eager as we are to become new people in Christ, we are not always eager to see the old self die. WE may not want to admit it, but there are times when we love the old Adam within us! So naturally, there’s still some part of us that wants a deathless resurrection. You may consciously or subconsciously be hoping for that right now.

* Perhaps we might want to get closer to God, but we won’t change our daily routines to find time for prayer or study.

* We want to find a loyal committed loving mate, but we won’t give up our flings, affairs, or sexual addictions.

* We want to be successful, but we won’t search God’s heart for what it is He wants us to be.

* We want people to like us, but we won’t give up the gossiping or criticism that comes so easily to us.

* We want to give up our fears and anxieties, but we won’t give up our need to be in control of our lives to God.

* We want to experience joy and happiness for a change, but we won’t trust God when He says those blessings come from giving generously to others.

* We want to be loved, but we don’t want to have to sacrifice anything in order to pour ourselves out for others.

* We want the blessings of salvation and unconditional love, but we want it without having to change.

Our desire for true resurrection is often hindered because there are times when we love the Old Adam.

12) DEATHLESS RESURRECTION? What we’re saying, is that we want a “deathless resurrection” to take place. But Jesus says, that’s not how it works. Something in our life must die before we can be transformed. We come into the church thinking that we just need to “add something” to that which we already have. But Christ comes to you to lovingly transform you. Money, fame, power, self… these cannot still be your gods if Jesus Christ is to be the new center of your world. Sin has to go if Christ is to grow in your hearts. Where there is no death, there is no resurrection. Deathless resurrections do not exist. But in the presence of Christ, “where there is death, there is hope.”

13) DO YOU BELIEVE? Listen to what Jesus is saying to you today: “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!” Then He asks Martha and us: “Do you believe this?” Do you? Do you believe He is the resurrection? Do you believe that He is the source of all life and joy and love? Do you understand how “ga-ga” in love He is with you? Even to the point that He would die for you to show you? It is a question that must be answered during Lent, as we walk towards the cross: Do you believe Jesus IS the resurrection?

14) WHY ARE WE AFRAID? Before we boldly answer “YES”, let’s ask ourselves, why are some of us still so scared of death? Why are we so afraid of giving up our old selves? Our selfish habits? Our controlling self-centered life-styles? Why are we so scared of getting near Him in prayer or through the reading of His Word? What we are holding on to that is so important that we will not give it up unto death? Is Jesus the resurrection or isn’t He?

15) YOURS! As you ponder these questions during Lent, remember 2 things: A resurrection lifestyle can’t be earned, worked for, or obtained by following some formula in order to get it. Why? Because Jesus is the resurrection. The resurrection is not something separate from Christ. So asking what you can do to get it, is like asking, “What must I do to get Jesus to love me?” The answer is still, NOTHING!!! He has always loved you!!! Just look at the cross and see how much!!! Bask in it, surrender to it, celebrate it, give thanks for it – but don’t expect to have to do anything to get it. This loving gift of grace is already yours!!!

16) NEW! Also remember: Experiencing resurrection means experiencing something new! God is always taking us to a new level of understanding as we “grow in His grace”. Christ is always helping us experience a deepening love in our relationship. Hence, the more death that comes to our sinful selves, the more resurrection we experience. However, when the old self, old habits, old misunderstandings are allowed to remain, …when we settle for the same life and faith we had last month, we start dying again. Likewise, when we mistakenly expect resurrection to mean that Jesus just “rewinds the film” and returns us to the way we used to be, we miss the point. And we begin wandering away again from our resurrection relationship with Jesus Christ. Because God always desires to do a new thing in your life – the learning, the growing, the loving never stops coming! Resurrection is always about creating within us something new!

17) DEATH FIRST! Remember friends, Jesus does not reach out to us just to add a few things to our life, He longs to transform us! …to make us more and more Christ-like each and every day. …to align our hearts with His! …to replace the self-centered portions of our beings, with divine thoughts and unconditional love. In order for resurrection to happen, something must die first. If we refuse to do that, then we block the possibility of new life. Why would any Christian do that? A hard question to answer. But I once had a member who verbalized that “resistance to resurrection” very well. When faced with the portion of the Gospel where Jesus asks each of us to share our faith, (to evangelize) – that person told me “I haven’t had to do that in 60+ years of going to church, and I’m not about to start now!” And yet that same person expected, even demanded, that the staff and council resurrect their declining church. Hmmm… another request for a deathless resurrection! No, death must come first – then resurrection. In this rapidly changing world, we are seeing that every small church that does not offer itself up for transformation, will fade away. Will ASLC offer itself wholeheartedly to see that that does not become our future? Will each individual here ask Christ to bury our reservations of reaching out, our fears of rejection, our lack of trust that the Spirit can use us to touch someone else’s life with Christ’s love? Because that’s how it works; death first, resurrection following. But the good news is that because of Christ; even in death there is hope.

18) WHAT NEEDS TO DIE? So ask yourself some serious questions this morning; what needs to die in your life, right now, so that God can raise up a new thing within your heart, mind, and soul? What attitudes, self-designed goals, negative emotions, selfish desires, harmful addictions, secular idols, or specific sins need to be drown today, that life-giving resurrection can take place? Is there hatred for a brother or sister that needs to be cast out, so that forgiveness and reconciliation can occur? What are you holding on to, trusting in, leaning on, or worshipping that is preventing you from “growing in God’s grace”? Remember, there is no such thing as a deathless resurrection. Something must die first. And today, the Lazarus story shows us that even in death there is hope …because of Christ! And so I ask again, what needs to die in your life that the miracle of hope may bless your life in daily resurrection?

19) CHRIST! Friends, Christ comes to you so that you can face, even celebrate, the startling facts: true life comes through death. Just as eternal life will not come until you physically die, the joyous spiritual life cannot be fully and richly experienced without the daily death of sin and self. There was time when death was understood as final and to be feared. Through the Lazarus story we see that is not true! Now, because of Christ’s love for you, we discover resurrection is always possible. And because of Christ, where there is death, (whether it be physical or spiritual) …there is hope, life, and a deepening love that brings joy and peace! Praise God AMEN

Sermon/Confessional Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, we confess that often we treat you like a fire-extinguisher that we keep in the closet and only pull out when there is a crisis. We forget that you are not an add-on insurance policy to be kept in a safe place. Forgive us when you are not the center of everything we say and do. Help us Lord to understand that true life comes only through daily resurrection, and that resurrection comes through you, and you alone. Help us Lord not to avoid the daily death of self, but to anticipate the joy of becoming what you intended us to be. Mold us, shape us, transform us daily that we may experience a greater understanding of your love and purpose for our lives.

Lord, forgive us for fearing death. Forgive us for not seeing that physical death is the final healing. Help us to live our lives today in the sure confidence that we will spend eternity in your embrace, light, and love. And until then Lord, help us to give up the old Adam and Eve within us, help our sinful self to be drown daily and raised again as new creatures. Forgive us for getting comfortable in our faith, and help us anticipate and praise you for doing a “new thing” in us. Help us to see challenges and crisis’s as opportunities to trust in you, learn from you, and grow in your grace. Replace our fears with faith.

And now Lord, although you know us better than we know ourselves, listen as we share in a moment of silence, those other parts of our lives that need to be forgiven, washed clean, healed, and made anew.

(Silence)

Lord, if the greatest gift ever given to humankind required a death first, then help us to now see that where there is death, there is hope. Whether it is the death of the body, or the death of the sinful self – help us always to anticipate the resurrection that is sure to follow. In Jesus Name we pray, AMEN

Assurance of Forgiveness:

Friends, listen to the good news: The Lord, whose sacrificial life demonstrated that even in death there is hope, …that Lord has mercifully heard your confession and eagerly forgives you all your sins. May you die today to sin, and be raised again anew. And may you walk without fear in the knowledge that resurrection is yours through His love, and even in death there is hope! Amen

Opening prayer: Lent 5, John 11:1-45

Dear Heavenly Father, we left this sanctuary last Sunday new creatures – made pure and Holy because of Your forgiveness and mercy and love. However, we return again tired, scared, worn out and broken again. Yet we are not without hope, because we know how much You love us. Here, we expect to find forgiveness, and healing, and the Holy Word that brings us life again. We anticipate the washing away of our sins and the joy as we hear You tell us again how much You love us. And we expect to be heard, healed, and given guidance, because it is Your gracious nature and way. And we gather to thank You and praise You for a Father’s love that has no boundaries or restrictions. Help us to climb into Your lap this morning and feel the loving embrace of Your arms. Comfort us and assure us that our lives and loved ones are in Your capable and powerful hands. And use those hands Lord to keep molding us, transforming us, and shaping us into the people You would have us be – unique reflections of Christ. Through the Love of Your Son, may we die to sin, and be raised again this morning, to find You living more fully in our hearts.

In Jesus Name we Pray! AMEN

OLD TESTAMENT: Ezekiel 37:1-14

In this OT lesson today, Ezekiel, filled with the Spirit, is shown a valley of dry bones that represents the defeated nation of Israel who are now exiles in Babylon. God prompts Ezekiel to prophecy to the bones and thus give them the spirit of life. Suddenly the bones come together into bodies, and from that vision the prophet learns that God will give back life and land to the hopeless exiles. As the lesson is read, reflect on that which seems dead in your life; a marriage, a relationship, a dream, …and ask, who better to turn to… than the one with the power and love to resurrect life.

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