ALIVE IN THE LORD JESUS

John 11:25-26 KJV Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:  26  And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

Are you alive in Christ...or dead?

A young, ambitious pastor was called to serve in a certain church. He was warned by his predecessor that the congregation was "dead".. But he accepted the call because he believed with God’s guidance he could bring life to that church. He was an optimist and he worked hard, visiting the members, preaching his best sermons enthusiastically, he tried to develop an outreach or lay visiting program so that visits might be done in the homes of the active, the inactive and new people moving into town. The harder he tried, the more he knew that his predecessor was right, this was a dead church.

The spark for ministry, the excitement of preaching and sharing the gospel message was not there.

So one Sunday he made a startling announcement to the few who were gathered for worship. He said, "In as much as you are a dead congregation, unresponsive to resuscitative efforts, unresponsive to any effort of pumping life into the workings of the congregation, in as much as the vital signs of the congregation are dead, I will conduct a funeral for this ’dead ’church next Sunday morning at 10:30."

The members, the few who were there, buzzed with excitement following the service. One said, "What’s he trying to pull anyway?" Another said, "I don’t understand?"

The pastor and his announcement of a funeral for the church was the main talk of the tiny rural town during that week. The phone lines were hot with talk, the coffee shop was filled with men talking about what they expected next Sunday.

Sunday arrived, and as the people gathered, there was an open coffin in the front of the church. As the 10:30 hour approached, the pastor looked out and saw that every pew plus some chairs were filled for this funeral service.

He began the funeral service by reading scripture, he shared prayer, he even gave a very sad sermon on the demise of this over 100 year old church and congregation.

After he finished his sermon, he did something which again startled the membership. He asked the members to please rise and past slowly by the open coffin to pay their last respects to this now dead church. Slowly, they shuffled pass the coffin, their faces assuming disconcerting expressions as each peered inside.

The coffin was empty except for a mirror.

As each person peered into the coffin to view the deceased each looked upon his or her own face.

Do you make up part of that congregation?

What does it mean to be alive in Christ? 

Every living animal behave is a way peculiar to its nature. That is why a dog barks,  not a cat. It's why a horse gallops and a snake slithers. Fishes swim and eagles fly.

If you are ALIVE in Christ then certain traits will be manifest in you a result of being ALIVE in Christ.

There will be:

1. A HUNGER FOR THE WORD!

A baby bawls for food and you know it is alive. A Christian is hungry for the Word of God and willingly puts diligent efforts into studying the Word and finds him/herself in places where the Word of God is taught.

 Job said: Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.  Job 23:12 KJV

Peter admonishes us: Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. 1 Peter 2:1-3 KJV

And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.  Luke 4:4 KJV

Paul urges Timothy to: Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.  2 Timothy 2:15 KJV

To have approval from God, we need to study HIS word; God wants us to be familiar with the word so that when the enemy comes our way, we will know how to handle the situation because the Holy Spirit will lift up the Standard of the Word! When we witness to someone our words will flow and the Holy Spirit will give us knowledge to speak the right words. Studying the Word of God is spiritual food to us. The Word is applicable to all of life's affairs. We have to examine the nature of everything that we come in contact with, to determine if it is good or evil. We have to ALWAYS remember that evil will many times look good, however when we study and apply the Word, we will be able to tell the difference. Being a faithful soldier for Christ means we need to be committed to study his Word and not get side-tracked. When we are alive in Christ we should have delight in the Word of God.  To us it is inspiration, fact and it is exciting. We must have faith in God’s word. 

But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.  Psalms 1:2 KJV

I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.  Psalms 119:16 KJVThy testimonies also are my delight and my counsellors.  Psalms 119:24 KJV

And I will delight myself in thy commandments, which I have loved.  Psalms 119:47 KJV

2. A DESIRE FOR PRAYER 

 Prayer is communicating with God and a person alive in Christ will desire intensely to speak to the Father. Jesus regularly spent all night in communion with His Father and if He found it necessary then so should we who are alive in Him! 

He urges His disciples to: Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.  Matthew 26:41 KJV

Yes, the flesh is weak but when we pray in the name of JESUS, we are VICTORIOUS. There is power in the name of JESUS. Prayer should be a priority for Christians. God answers prayers, but we need to pray wholeheartedly.  

We are admonished to: Pray without ceasing.  1 Thessalonians 5:17 KJV

Being alive in Jesus shows our FAITH in Him, we should not doubt who HE is. 

The Bible tells us: But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.  Hebrews 11:6 KJV

    James says: But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.  James 1:6 KJV

   WE have to constantly be on guard because Satan will be ready to catch us off guard, but of the righteous God say: Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.  Psalms 37:24 KJV

He will forgive us when we confess our sins wholeheartedly. In fact when we are alive in HIM, we will sin less and worship and adore Him with a sincere heart.

3.  A WILL TO WORSHIP

John 4:23-24 KJV But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.  24  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

We need to move from the natural light of the outer court past the artificial light  from the lampstands tended by man in the holy place and  onward into the Most Holy Place where the Eternal Heavenly Light of the Shekinah fills the the cube of the Holy of Holies...the perfection of God. Yashua died in order to open an entrance into the Most Holy and we are given the privilege of entering there. 

How do we get in there? Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.  Psalms 100:4 KJV

As we enter in the prescribed manner our hearts sync with heaven’s rhythm and begin to vibrate with Heaven's frequency. As worship builds up in us we are in harmony with the glory of the Holiest Place and bow in reverence in the presence of the Shekinah!  In worship we are taken into the very presence of Yahweh where time ceases to exist for as you:

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,

Look full in His wonderful face,

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,

In the light of His glory and grace. 

 When we are alive in Jesus, He will bless us, He will supply our needs - Exodus 16:14 KJV  And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground.

When we are alive in Jesus, no matter what the situation we will continue to be thankful to God. We will worship Him in spirit and in truth and He will BLESS us. He provided manna for the children of Israel – the ones who were unthankful and who murmured did not enter into the promise land. Do we want God to see us as unthankful? We all have troubles we are facing, but our God is bigger than any situation – we all tend to see our problems as road blocks but no matter how bad our circumstances are, there are so many things we have that we need to thank God for. When God sees how rooted and grounded we are in Him, He will continue to bless us.

 

When we are alive in Christ – HE satisfies us and through HIM we gain everlasting life.

John 6:35 KJV And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

When we are alive in Jesus, we will have the Comforter to comfort us. John 14:26 KJV  But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

When we have the Comforter in us we will have a personal relationship with God; Our bodies are now temples of God. 1 Corinthians 6:19 KJV What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

We now have a constant companion in Jesus. We are victors over flesh …

Romans 8:2-4 KJV For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.  3  For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:  4  That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

We are living is crucial times but we have the Comforter to guide us, to convict us of sin. He is gentle and will fill our lives with good things. Satan will have no place in our lives. We can also recognize the signs of the time and do our utmost to redeem the time.

When we are alive in Jesus we will be grounded. Ephesians 3:17 KJV That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,

We are living in a world where there is a lot of hatred and anger but when we are alive in Jesus, no one or nothing can separate us from the love of God. We are going to look at things differently and see the good in others. We will stand firm and no wind will be able to shake us. Our roots will grow deep in the love of God and in His strength. Satan will try to pluck us out but his grace will be more than enough. 2 Peter 3:18 KJV But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.

Being alive in the Jesus will make us love one another. We will put others before ourselves. We will love our brothers and sisters; we will feel each other’s pain and we will also celebrate together. We will pray for each other, and encourage each other in the Lord. We will be able to forgive and show respect to others. Being alive in Jesus will make our lights shine.

Matthew 5:16 KJV Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

WHEN WE ARE ALIVE IN JESUS, OUR HEAVENLY FATHER WILL BE GLORIFIED.