Signs of the Spirit-Led Life V, Show Me the Power

Tim, I know in a few more weeks you're going to be walking in the golf swing, so this is the last few steps of getting up here. I feel hurt once again because during the greeting nobody said how good my hair looked today. Don't take it personally. My wife and I have been going through a trial for the last five months. It's dealing with cancer, and it's our trial together. But it didn't start five months ago. You see, this is the second time I've had cancer in my life. Four years ago I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease. But back then the doctor said it wasn't that prevalent. I wouldn't need chemotherapy, just three months of radiation. I thought, I can tough this out. I knew the Lord as my savior back then, but I wasn't really walking close to Him. I thought I could control this myself. Sure enough, three months later, the cancer was gone, and I went on with my life. But something bothered me after that. I thought, here I was, facing the greatest trial of my life, yet I hadn't turned to God to help me through it. That stayed with me all those four years. I heard a sermon a while back on the radio, and this man said that if you live in America today, you have a good job, your marriage is good, you have your health, you can come pretty close to making this heaven on earth down here in our own mind. We're deluded in thinking that way. A lot of us are guilty of that. I was guilty of that. I had a great job with the H.J. Hines Company. I had a great marriage. I had my health, and things were really going well. I was in control of my life. You see, we are so concerned with our comfort level here on earth. That's what we really cling to. God, believe it or not, is not as concerned with our comfort level here on earth. I don't believe he wants us to suffer for 80 years and then die. He wants to bless us. His word is full of verses that say that. But he's concerned with something more important, and that's transforming ourselves, our lives, to the image of Christ. You see, he's already taken care of our ultimate comfort level, and that's called heaven. Now, unfortunately for us, to transform us to the image of Christ, sometimes he has to break in to our comfort level, because oftentimes we are stubborn people. He did that last fall. I remember one day, I was driving back from a business trip from Baltimore to the mountains on the turnpike. Beautiful day. Sun was out, which is rare for Pennsylvania. And it's one of those times where you have a special closeness to God. I was listening to praise tapes, and I prayed this prayer. I said, God, I know I'm not everything that you would have me be. Please do whatever you have to in my life to mold me to the image of your son and make me pleasing to you. Be real careful if you pray that prayer. Now, I'm serious, because when you're ready to do business with God, believe me, he's ready to do business with you. Six weeks later, he answered that prayer. I'd been having some what we thought was thyroid problems, which wasn't anything serious. I was in New York sitting in a hotel room, and Kathy called me and said the test results had come back. And my greatest fears were realized. Not only was my cancer back, but this time it wouldn't be three months of radiation. It would be six months of heavy chemotherapy, which is one of my greatest fears. I had many friends who had gone through chemo. I always hoped and prayed that I wouldn't have to do that. But now as God was bringing me to a point where I couldn't be in control anymore, I would have to submit to him and trust him with every day of my life and turn control over to him. See, once you belong to him, he's in control anyway. Sometimes we just don't want to admit it. He says he knows when the sparrow falls, he knows the numbers of the hairs on our head, which I know isn't saying a lot for me right now, but he does know them. I can tell you there have been a lot of dark days through my therapy, but he has been there every step of the way. His grace has been sufficient every step of the way. I want to read this now, but it's too long for me to memorize. Because of this trial that God has allowed in my life, my perspectives have changed. The things in this world now don't seem quite so important. The things of God have taken on priority. I don't view this trial as God's punishment or anger towards me. Rather, I see it as his love towards me. Because of this ordeal, I have been brought into a closer relationship to Christ and care more about obeying God and pleasing him than ever before. You see, I've gone through a lot. I know a lot of you are in the midst of a trial now, but can we really say the trial is not worth it to draw closer to him? And believe me, there have been nights when I've come close to shaking my fist to God, saying, Why? But I couldn't do it, because how do you shake your fist at the very one who died for you to buy you eternal life? You see, we have choices to make when we come through a trial. And believe me, if you're not in a trial, you will be. And they're all different. We can try to tough it out ourselves, and that will work for a while. We can grow into despair and let the fear grip us. We can shake our fist to God and say, Why me, God? Or we can turn to the very one who probably brought the trial and trust him and let him carry us. And during the trial, I heard this once, and it's really true, In the midst of your trial, praise him and thank him, not only for what he was doing then, but how he's going to bless you and change you at the end of the trial. One thing about cell groups I want to mention. We were not in a cell group prior to this trial. I traveled a lot. We did believe in the validity of the cell groups, wanting to be in one. But how did we have the time? I know a lot of you would think that way, too. We did get in a cell group shortly after the therapy started. I can tell you what a blessing it's been. The very first night, we didn't want to go. I had just received chemo. I was very exhausted, very tired. But we went there. At the end of the evening, they put me in the center of the room, anointed me with oil, prayed over me. Every one of us in that room, including the men, was in tears. We were all blessed by that night. The cell group has been a blessing to us. We have not made it this far without it. There's been a lady every week I get a note of encouragement from that really lifts my spirit. Another lady sent us many, many Bible verses saying how God will bless us and watch over us. They have meant so much to us. Another man, at Christmas time, when I couldn't get out of bed, went with my family and picked out a Christmas tree. He all set it up. So if you're not in a cell group, please get in one. Believe me, you have the time. You need to get in one. I want to mention a couple of other things. A couple of weeks ago, I had some tests done to find out where the cancer was. I was going to find out the next morning whether my cancer was gone or whether it was getting worse. So needless to say, it was a very anxious evening. I was very torn that evening because on one hand, I was praying to God, trying to give him control, trying to tell him I trusted him. I've got to be honest with you, on the other hand, I was scared. I was very fearful. I felt guilty a little bit, but then I remembered Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. He was scared too. His prayer was a prayer of fear, but he turned it over to God and he trusted him. I told God, regardless of what happens tomorrow, I will still love you and praise you. He was there for me. The good news is the cancer is gone. I want to leave you with this final thought. This is a devotional by Bill Bright. He's the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ. The first is James 1, 2-4. Dear brothers, is your life full of difficulties and temptations? Then be happy. For when the way is rough, your patience has a chance to grow. So let it grow. And don't try to squirm out of your problems. For when your patience is finally in full bloom, then you will be ready for anything. Strong in character, full and complete. Then Bill Bright goes on to add, You can decide how you will respond to problems and temptations. You can either become critical and cynical, or as an act of the will, by faith, you can choose to believe that our sovereign, loving God is allowing this to happen in your life for your own good and ultimately for the good of His glory. You're going to need to follow along in your teaching outline, and I think you'll find this morning's message very relevant to what's going on out there in the culture today. Our text really is just one simple section of Scripture, Philippians 3, 10 and 11 in the Phillips translation. Let me read it for you. Let's just put it in the outline and you can read it with me, on the overhead rather. Know I long to know Christ and the power shown by His resurrection. Know I long to share His sufferings, even to die as He did, so that I may somehow attain the resurrection from the dead. That was the cry of St. Paul near the end of his life. Over the past few weeks, there's been quite a lot of interest raised once again in the question of, is there life after death and what happens when we die? My attention was caught just about, I guess it was last week. I know you can't see this, so we do have a sort of enlargement of it. Let's go ahead and roll that, guys. Here's what Time Magazine looked like just a week before last. Does heaven exist? That was the feature article. And a lot of speculation in here that we'll take a look at in just a moment. And then, U.S. News, life after death. What happens? I mean, so many people want to know these days. You see, when Americans face the limitation, the fact that last time we checked, the mortality rate was still 100%. People want to know, what can we do about it? And then all of us were shocked. All of us who've heard the news this last week of the death, the apparent suicide of the 39 cult members, who, to use their words, left these containers to hook up with a UFO hidden in the tail of a Hillbop comet. I mean, if it didn't sound so ludicrous, you'd say, are these people nuts or what? And yet they were bright, educated professionals, computer wizards, I'm told. They were searching for the clues, looking for the signs, for life beyond this life. Friends, it's a subject that all of us fantasize about, but every one of us need to know about. And some people think, well, maybe out in California there's weird beliefs, but not here. I mean, this is Pittsburgh. Well, we just did a little video clip for you of what happened. We just did a little man-in-the-street interview of some folks up at Wexford Plaza. So our cub reporter here, Kelly McCabe, is going to interview a few folks. Maybe you might recognize a couple of them. Here we go. ...at Wexford Plaza to find out what people think happens the moment they die. I believe that when we die, our souls go to heaven, and we become guardian angels of others to watch over them and guide them in the right direction. I believe that after people die, they go nowhere. Death is gone. You don't have an afterlife. You don't go to heaven. You're just dead. I believe the moment a person dies, they immediately go to their judgment. They have to stand before God and answer that question of whether they know his son, Jesus Christ. Well, I believe that when we die, I guess I believe what the Bible says, and that is that we either go to heaven to be with our heavenly Father, or we go to hell and are separated from him. Just go. Well, I don't know if I really believe in life after death. I think when you die, you're just buried in the ground. That's about it. Well, I believe that your soul either goes to heaven or into hell, depending on how you were throughout your life. What do you think happens to people when they die? I think they go to heaven. Heaven. Heaven. That's sort of the popular idea. I thought about this before, but could you imagine waking up in heaven and have this guy with the food for less signs, and I'm your guardian angel. It would be pretty interesting. There's lots of opinions, obviously, and you saw on that little clip that people here in Wexford kind of believe like the rest of the nation. In fact, look at this overhead. This is what, in the Time and U.S. News report, this is what people say immediately after death, what do you think will happen? Well, 61% said, hey, I'm going straight to heaven. No doubt about it. 15% said, well, I'm going to stop over and work it off for a while in purgatory. 5% said, I'm coming back as a bug or an elephant or something else. 4% said, like the folks, one of the folks on this, well, it's all over for me. 1%, just 1% said, well, I guess it's hell for me. And for those of you who are counting numbers, the rest said they didn't know. So that gives you a pretty clear picture of what the issue kind of is, as far as I'm concerned. What's happening with people? What do they think the signs are? It's very important. We can turn the lights up, guys, so people can see their outlines. You see, you better know on this one what the right signs are about heaven, don't you think? You better not miss this one. Your interpretation of the signs of the way to eternal life can result in some very serious consequences. And not every sign is all that easily interpreted. Some signs along the way are just flat wrong. Sometimes you need to ignore the signs that people tell you about. In fact, if you walk out in our parking lot out here, you'll see one sign that says, North Way Christian Community, one mile. That's in our parking lot. I don't know what it's doing there. There was a guy driving from Pittsburgh over to Columbus, Ohio, in Interstate 70. He saw a sign along the road that said, Clean Restrooms Ahead. So he did. And I don't have the nerve to tell you what he did when he saw a sign that said, Wet Cement. Just north of Grove City, I saw a sign at one of those little combination restaurant service station off-ramp things that said, the sign said, Eat Here and Get Gas. Then there's a sign over in a Shadyside Jewelry Store that says, Ears Pierced While You Wait. I didn't know what option would you have. I'd like to leave mine and come back. I have some shopping to do. On the Nebraska Highway, there's a sign that says, Take Notice. When this sign is underwater, this road is impassable. And nearby at a garage sale, we saw a sign that said, Antique Desk Suitable For Lady With Thick Legs And Large Drawers. Well, you have to know what the signs are. And I thought it was appropriate on this Easter Sunday to take a careful look at this issue. And friends, can I just say something almost like a bit of a confession? I guess in some ways, I'd rather talk about something else. I'd rather tell you some great second-chance stories and maybe make you laugh a bit more and all that, because, well, it's Easter, you know, and your family's together. But how many of us are adults that are here? How many aren't? Sure. Take a look. And there are some children here. That's okay. Maybe they'll understand. But I'm speaking to adults today and about a very adult theme, if you will. And that is, what is the truth about what happens when we die? Jesus Christ gave four basic teachings. I'm going to run through them very quickly. You might want to write these down. And by the way, if this isn't all that interesting to you because you already know it, I guarantee you're going to talk to someone in this next week who doesn't know it. You might want to get the tape and share it with them and have them listen to it and then talk to you about it. First thing is that Jesus said, everyone will be resurrected immediately following death. Everyone will be resurrected. Acts 24, 15 says, the resurrection will include the just and the unjust or the righteous and the ungodly. There's going to be, immediately following death, when your eyes close in this life, they're going to open again in the next dimension. Everybody. No exceptions. No sleep of death. No waiting period. No gaps. Boom. There you are. And this is important. Who we are, this consciousness that we have been given by God, that doesn't go out as a couple of our misguided interviewees had said. We awaken and then we exist eternally. Jesus taught that very clearly. Every single person, universally, no exceptions. Number two, he said, the first scheduled event after the resurrection is the judgment. Hebrews 9, 27 says it. There will come a judgment. There will come a time when all people, including me and you, will stand before the throne of a holy God and give an account of our lives. Now, friends, there's a little confusion about this point that I need to clarify today. There's sort of a word on the street rumor that's going around all around America, I might point out. The rumor goes like this, that at this judgment moment, really bad people like the terrorists and assassins and child molesters and rapists and so, you know, the Saddam Husseins and Hitlers of the history books, all those kind of people are in for a really, really bad time on that day. But the word on the street for the rest of us is that we're going to get checked out a little bit, you know, kind of like you do when you go into the airport and you walk through the security thing and it goes off and you step back out and you clear out your pockets and purse and then go through again and everything's fine. We think that's kind of what's going to happen to us. We'll have to unload a little bit of baggage and then we'll go right on through and with a wink and a smile, Peter or whoever we think will meet us in heaven's gates will just say, hey, come on in. Because after all, we've really been pretty good people. I mean, we've lived decent lives, haven't really hurt anybody, you know. And on and on this story kind of goes about the acceptability of every person before Almighty God. That's the word that's out there. Most of us will just breeze through Judgment Day, but friends, I've got to tell you something about that sign. That's one of the signs you don't want to believe. That sign is very, very wrong. That sign will lead you into deep trouble. That's not what God says in His Word. In fact, the issue on that day will not be did you sin or not, but rather what did you do with the sin that you know you did? Did you bring it to the cross of Christ or did you try to somehow bear it on your own? Did you do it your way? The real issue on that day is not whether or not you did, but what did you do with your sin? Have you asked Christ to be your sin substitute? And did you then demonstrate the sincerity of your confession by living a life that was consistent with what you said? Lots of people say it. Not that many people live it. And friends, God is not a fool, that He would be mocked on that day. Third thing that Jesus said is that He's going to separate all people of the earth into one of two camps. I don't know how you picture this. This to me is huge. It's unimaginable. But the Bible says clearly, the words of Jesus, Matthew 25, 32, and He will separate the people one from another as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And as difficult as this is to comprehend, that's what the Bible says is going to happen. Now as a little aside on this point, Matthew chapter 7, we don't have it listed, but you might want to jot it down and read it later, 21 and so. Matthew 7 says that many religious people will be rocked to their core when they discover on that day that being a Christian in name only, being a church goer in practice only didn't hack it in heaven's terms. They're going to discover to their horror that God wasn't fooled by their little charade. They may have fooled others, they may have even fooled themselves, they may have played the game pretty well, but God you see on that day will look straight into the heart and you'll know very clearly that His judgment won't be one dot off of dead center about your life. Multitudes who clearly assume that they're going to make the cut because well they've been decent people, occasional church goers. Assume that a loving God grades in a curve and their part of the curve is somewhere in the middle and the really bad people get lopped off and the really good people, well they're going to get exalted, but I'm going to get in. Friends, the Bible says clearly that's not the way it's going to be. Multitudes are going to receive a big time wake up call because they're going to realize on that day that they missed the signs that Jesus had left all along the way, read the book, read the book, read the book. Don't stake your eternal destiny on what someone kind of told you that they read about by some author that they can't even remember that they heard about. It's in the book, read it. All who repented and trusted Christ fully and lived obediently, not perfectly, but obediently, they'll be placed in one camp and those who refuse to do so or ignorantly decided not to will be placed in another. And that's the fourth point. Our eternal resting place will be either heaven or hell. Then they will go away to eternal punishment but the righteous to eternal life. Friends, I know this is difficult to fathom. I mean, you know, I wanted to bring out a purple Easter bunny and make everyone laugh right now, but it's not the point. The point is this, that eternity is a long time and we all better be very clear about our choices in reference to eternity. Jesus said there's two places. There isn't any middle ground. This whole thing of, well, if you didn't do real well, you can have a few millennia to burn it off and then you'll be... That's not in the Bible. That's not what Jesus ever taught. No second chances. Can't come back and try it over again. A few facts about heaven. In case you haven't heard, Jesus described it as a glorious, unimaginably beautiful place that He has prepared for those who love Him where His glory is the light of day by which we dwell. It's a community of people totally forgiven and healed and freed from the ravages of sin and evil. It's a place without sorrow or pain or disappointment or hurt. It's a place where no tears will be shed. It's a community of redeemed people who are constantly thrilled by the ever-expanding glorious revelation of who God has been and will be and will forever be for them. Just as the universe, physicists tell us, continues to expand by the energy that's being loosed in it, so God's revelation will continue to unfold majestically before us who receive our reward in the heavenly places. And these people will not only experience this profound beauty and glory themselves, but they're going to share it. Have you discovered that the greatest joys in life are multiplied when you share them with somebody? Well, heaven's going to be a community and there are going to be people from every race and every nation and every people group gathered there in heaven together. Won't it be a glorious thing? What we could not accomplish on earth of reconciliation, God will accomplish gloriously on that day. That's what heaven's going to be like. And in addition, we're going to be given new and glorified bodies, not some retread or patched up old one. And that's important to some of us, isn't it? My friend Chuck Coon, he's been a member of North Way for over 10 years. He was here last night in the Saturday evening service. His wheelchair, he has a degenerative disease. He's slowly losing every function. He can't speak any longer. And I put my arms around Chuck and I said, I want you to know Chuck, whatever happens in this life, however God chooses to answer your prayer, I want you to know one thing. There's going to be a day when you're going to be given a brand new body. And you're going to step up out of that chair and you're going to dance before the throne and clap your hands and shout with your voice and say to God, His praise and His glory and His dominion will reign forever. Chuck, you can count on it. The Bible's clear. And friends, can I say something? All of us who are past 35 or 40 know this body's wearing out, isn't it? Huh? Or is mine the only one? Right? Yeah. God says this new and resurrected and glorified body will be unlike anything we've ever known. Identifiable in every way. It will know who you are. But if it's anything like Jesus' body, He could just appear in rooms and walk through doors and still eat fish. I mean, what kind of body is that? Sounds pretty cool to me. That's what heaven's about. Now, a couple of facts about hell. I mean, it's only fair, isn't it? I mean, only 1% think that that's going to be where they're going, but you need to know what it's like just in case you're amongst that 1%. Three phrases that Jesus used. The first thing He said was this, Place is a hell of utter darkness. Matthew 8.12. If you want to jot the reference down, it's in Matthew 8.12. The word for utter, U-T-T-R, utter darkness, is the word that means most distant darkness. In other words, as far as possible from the light of God, that's where you're going to be. And friends, the term really describes total separation. And I need to say something here to people who kind of jokingly talk about hell. And I encounter these folks from time to time. I'm sure you do too. They'll kind of say, you know, when you're talking about these eternal things, they'll say, time out a minute. They'll say, you know, when it comes right down to it, I don't want to be in heaven with a bunch of loony tune Christians like us. Anyhow, that's what they're saying. I'll just take my chances in hell with, you know, my kind of people. You know, the kind that didn't make your cut. I mean, they're the cool ones anyhow. We'll just party in hell. You party in heaven. I hear that. Don't you hear that from time to time? It's kind of like the defiant deal. But friends, the Bible doesn't say that that's even possible. Even remotely possible. In fact, if you think about it, everything that has to do with camaraderie and loyalty and friendship comes from God. And in the absence of that, what do you have? But isolation. Forever. The second thing that Jesus said is that there's going to be a place of fiery torment. It's metaphorical. I don't know exactly what it means. Read Luke 16. If you're taking notes, jot down Luke 16, about verse 11 and following, and you'll find some pretty fearsome images there. Things you would not want to exist in for very long. And number three, Jesus said that there's going to be gnashing of teeth. And that again is metaphorical. It's when he's talking about the fact that remorse, like you've never known, is going to fall. You know, like when you ever take a test, you know, those of you in college or high school, you take a test and you run out and say, I wonder if I got that question right. And you open up the book and you're like, oh no, I missed it. Or, you know, like on April 16th, you wake up and say, oh my taxes, you know, oh it's April 16th. And you gnash your teeth. That's what he's talking about. Gnashing your teeth. Remorse. Because you missed the signs. All along the trail, the signs were there and you missed them. And now it's eternity. And now what are you going to do? You see, in the end, heaven is simply an extension forever of what you wanted on this earth. The presence of God. And in the end, hell is just an extension of what you wanted on this earth. Separation from God. It's simple. And yet, when you cut it that clearly, a lot of folks get a little nervous and they say, well, you know, I believe in Jesus and God and all that stuff, but I just don't necessarily believe the way you do. And then I ask the question, what do you mean the way we do? Well, like, you know, here, in this church, you know, with like the hands going up and all this. That's nothing to do with it, friends. The essentials of believing in God's plan of salvation are very clearly spelled out in this book and have been believed for two millennia. Faith. Grace. Obedience. Serving. Giving. Fellowship. Those are the essentials. You've got to believe those and your life has to show that you do. And I want to end today by just pointing to one final sort of non-negotiable if you're going to gain eternal life. Turn your outline over. What Jesus taught about gaining eternal life. Jesus said this, that the key to life is found in the cross. Whosoever will gain his life in this world will lose it. Whoever loses his life in this world, for my sake, in the gospel will surely find it. Jesus said, I came that they might have real and eternal life, more and better life than they've ever dreamed of. Life is found not at the resurrection. And friends, this is a message about the resurrection. But, you see, in America, we want to skip over the death part. We want to get right to the resurrection. Woody Allen said, you know, I'm not afraid of death, I just don't want to be there when it happens. And that's the way most Americans are. We've got to come on God's terms. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 1.18 on your outline, for the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. The key to life is found at the cross. This Easter season, have you surveyed the wondrous cross? Have you? If you were part of the eyewitnesses, you've seen it. People said to me afterwards, Jake, could Jesus really have suffered like that? And friends, I have to tell you, from all that I've studied, and I've studied this quite a bit, I don't think what you saw happening on the Via Della Rosa and I don't think it even really came close. Remember that he suffered not just for a few minutes, but for hours and hours upon hours upon hours. And as Dave accurately said on Wednesday and Friday night, his physical suffering was just a small part of the pain. As terrible as the lashes were, as terrible as it might be to have your head with these sharp thorns, and then the Bible says the soldiers hit him on the head with a staff. What's a staff? Well, that's a solid rod driving those little thorns into his skull and then punching them with their fists. I mean, as unimaginably brutal as this beating was, friends, it didn't compare to the pain that he suffered spiritually. Jesus suffered spiritual pain. And I want to just mark one thing here in this message today. This pain was caused by our sin. You need to understand that it wasn't the Jews that hung him on the cross. It wasn't the Romans that did it. Oh yes, they were used in that sense of executing the order. But friends, it was our sin that placed him there. And if this is uncomfortable stuff for you, then you've never really processed the truth of it. And yet it always remains uncomfortable, I guess, for all of us. We don't want to think that we would have anything to do with driving the nails into his hands. But you see, the wrath of God, the Bible says, is being poured out against all sin. The cross is a symbol, as I said on Friday night, it's a symbol of the measure of the wrath of God against sin. In 2 Thessalonians 1, verse 9 says that a day is coming when all the earth will receive the wrath of God. And so Jesus bore the wrath that we would do for our sin on his own body on the cross. And in a moment in time, after three hours of suffering and agony, he realized that his father had broken communion with him. And in a moment, remember, Jesus didn't cry. There's no evidence that he said a word when he was whipped. No evidence that he said a word when he was hit over the head with that crown of thorns and those staffs. No evidence that when they pummeled him, he said, stop. In fact, the only thing out of his mouth and those beatings was what? Father, forgive them. They don't know what they're doing. But at the moment that Jesus recognized that he'd been separated and I don't know how. It's part of the Trinity. All that happened, but he was separated. He said, and I can't even begin to mimic or to imitate the words. He said, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And you see, that was the moment where he experienced what hell will be like. Separation from God. And that's what caused him to cry out. That was the one pain that he couldn't bear without saying something. And friends, we need to understand that it was our pain that he bore. Each time I consider this, I find it difficult to process. We so easily, so glibly pass this over. You see, until you come to the cross, grace isn't really amazing. You just talk about grace.