Secured by the resurrection hope! (Psalm 16)

Cornerstone Mission Church, Sunday Morning Sermon (4.12.2009)

Easter is about our God displaying his mighty power over death and sin through raising his Son Jesus Christ from death. It is about God flexing his muscle over Satan. It is about God’s kingdom of his Son breaking into the kingdom of darkness with unstoppable force. It is about God securing his people on the solid ground of salvation in times of insecurity. As such, if you want security from your unpredictable, uncertain future, if you want security from your fear of premature harms or death, if you want security from your anxiety caused by having to make big life decisions, if you want security from your fear of failing yourself, failing others, or failing God, if you want security from your past failures and sins, if you want security at all for whatever reasons, God made a huge statement on Easter Sunday in the history that it is he who can secure us in his Son Jesus.

Today, I would like to take you back to three millenniums before our time or one millennium before the time of Jesus. I would like to take you back to the time of David, the king of Israel. David lived in insecure time; he was a man familiar with trials and difficulties. He faced life threatening circumstances because of the fractured human relationships; he was pursued by Saul who was rejected by God as a king; Saul was relentless in his attempt to kill David. David was also betrayed by his own son who tried to overthrow his kingdom. He lived in insecure time that should have paralyzed him with fear, anger, bitterness, hatred, inferiority complex, misery or depression. Instead what we see is David turning to God and praying earnestly for God’s security in his hopeless and insecure time.

1. David faced two dangers in Psalm 16

In verse Psalm 16:1, we see David asking God to keep him safe. We don’t know the exact circumstance David was in. But whatever it was, it involved a life threatening insecurity. Besides this danger of death, he also had to deal with the danger of compromising and loosing his faith. According to verse 4, around David were people who ran after the idols, offered to them, and pledged their trust in them. David had to fight against this temptation to forsake the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

2. Secured by relationship with God.

For David to ask God to keep him safe and to take refuge in God presupposes David’s relationship with God. It is relationship built on trust. In Psalm 17:8, David expressed his trust in God this way, “Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings.”

David understood that ultimately it was God’s responsibility or his prerogative to look after his people as their King, their rightful ruler. David called out to God for help because God was not some distant deity, but one who came into his life to rule him; David knew that he belonged to God his King. And, this belonging to God is possible because according to 1 John 4:19, “he [God] first loved us.”

God first broke into our dark world while we were ignorant, while we were sinful, while we were his enemies, to bring us into the kingdom of his Son, to secure us on the Rock, the Cornerstone, to secure us in his Son. We can hope and ask God to secure us because he has pursued us to rule over us justly, lovingly, and competently.

Consider the depth of David’s relationship with God in Psalm 16:2. David told God, “Apart from you I have no good thing.” Or put it positively, “All the good things, all that I consider good in life come from you.” James 1:17 echoes this attitude, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” David was saying to God, “God to have you is good enough.” He also told God in Psalm 16:5, “Lord, you have assigned me my portion, and my cup, you have made my lot secure” as translated in NIV. David was recounting the way God had supplied to meet his needs. ESV translation of verse 5, “The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup” captures the understanding of how God supplied to meet David’s need, but more than that, that God gave himself to David. It echoes what God told Aaron in Numbers 18:20, “You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any share among them, I am your share and your inheritance among the Israelites.” God who gives abundantly to meet all our needs gives himself to us. So, here is the question, “Is God enough?” Chris Tomlin’s song we sang today, “Enough” captures this truth very well.

You are my supply, my breath of life

and still more awesome than I know.

You are my reward worth living for

and still more awesome than I know.

All of you is more than enough for all of me.

For every thirst and every need you satisfy me

with your love and all I have in You is more than enough.

3. Secured by relationship with God’s people (Psalm 16:3).

Another observation that I see from Psalm 16:3 about seeking God’s security in life is the importance of having strong and intimate relationship with God’s people. David called God’s people as the saints who are in the land and that they are the glorious ones in whom is all his delight. Do you consider me as your delight? Do I consider you my delight? Without this Christ giving connection of delighting in each other, any sense of security will seem hollow and shallow. If we want real security that comes from God, we got to learn to delight in each other.

4. Secured by the Lord’s truth.

Christian security in Christ is built on God’s truth. Psalm 16:4, we see David rejecting the temptation to compromise the faith in God by refusing to even mention the names of the idols that his contemporaries worshiped. This rejection of idolatry stems from David’s firm belief that God alone is enough.

Along with this rejection of false worship and his satisfaction in God alone, we see him being directed by God’s truth in Psalm 16:7-8. You cannot imagine being secured in God without delighting in God and his truth. David praised God because of God’s counsel and God’s instruction to his heart. Day and night, David experienced God’s abiding truth guiding him and guarding him with power. God was at David’s right hand; God was his strength. No wonder David said, “I have set the LORD always before me.” His single-hearted commitment to the Lord grew out of his experience of God and his truth. The result was the sound security in the insecure time. Or, as David expressed “I will not be shaken” (Psalm 16:8) in times of difficulties and trials.

5. Secured by the hope of resurrection.

In the original context of this Psalm, David wasn’t necessarily thinking about resurrection. What he had in his mind was deliverance from the fear of death. He was asking God to literally protect him from dying prematurely. What’s captured in verse 10 in the context of David’s life is his trust in God not to abandon him to the grave, to death, to decay in the grave. And, this hope of deliverance from the fear of death allowed his heart to be filled with gladness. Words of fear, uncertainty, doubts were replaced with words of rejoice. His body that was tense, tired, and shaking now experienced rest in security.

Peter quoted this psalm when he preached for the first time ever for any Christian in Acts 2:25-28. Peter argued that David although spoke about his life situation, but by God’s wisdom, what he spoke about himself became a prophetic description about Jesus Christ a millennium later. For David it was a matter of deliverance from death, but for Jesus it was a matter of resurrection from the dead. Peter again quotes from Psalm 16:10 in Acts 13:35 to reiterate the hope of resurrection, not just merely prevention or delay of inevitable death.

Between the hope of deliverance from death and the hope of resurrection from death, which is stronger hope? David was secured by the hope of deliverance from death. What we have is being secured by the hope of resurrection from death.

Conclusion

What makes your life insecure these days? What do you do to make your life secure in insecure time? Psalm 16 teaches us that God who is “good” (v. 2) shows you the path of life, fills you with joy, and gives you pleasures when you dwell in the hope of the Lord’s resurrection. May God help you find security in the resurrection of Jesus Christ!

1 Samuel 14, You are made for the Mission Impossible!

For many years since the Michael Jordan era, I have lost hope for the Bulls and I’ve stopped watching them play. I guess you could say I am not much of a fan. I was surprised when I learned how the Bulls won against the Miami Heat. But, now that they have lost three games straight in wide margins against the Detroit Piston, Bull’s future looks pretty dark to me. Mike Lopresti from USA Today Sports considers a 0-3 black hole as “sticking two wet fingers in a light socket.” Another word, the Bulls is good as dead. To win the next four game straight is a tall order. It is a mission impossible!

This was the kind of situation the Israelites faced against the Philistines. Saul had three thousand soldiers, two thousand with him and one thousand with his son, Jonathan. Jonathan’s attack against the Philistines outpost at Geba brought about “three thousand chariots, six thousand charioteers and soldiers as numerous as the sand of the seashore.” And, to make the matter worse, 13:15 tells us that when Saul counted his men, only six hundred remained with him.

13:17, we see the three detachments of raiding parties of Philistines army going out in three directions. The raiding parties’ sole purpose was to destroy and annihilate the Israelites wherever they went. With only six hundred remaining with Saul and Jonathan, these raiding parities faced virtually no opposition from them.

And, when we come to 13:19, we see how it was absolutely and ludicrously worse situation for the Israelites. The Philistines possessed the new and superior technology that allowed them to harness the power of iron for their weapons and their farming tools. They kept this new technology as their top secret and did not allow it to be in the hands of the Israelites. They were so successful at it that there was not a blacksmith…in the whole land of Israel. They made the Israelites buy all their farm tools from them. And, when it was time for the Israelites to sharpen the tools, they had to go to the Philistines to get their tools sharpened at the exorbitant cost.

It wasn’t just the farming tools. Verse 22 says that not a soldier with Saul and Jonathan had a sword or spear in his hand; only Saul and his son Jonathan had them. So, among the small number of six hundred soldiers standing with Saul and Jonathan, none were found with swords or spears. Perhaps, they armed themselves with plowshares. They were good as dead. It was just the matter of time before all of them were destroyed and annihilated. Sadly, for the Israelites, humanly speaking their mission was impossible; they had nothing to look forward to.

Have you ever faced a time like this where there is no way out! You feel defeated, hopeless frustrated. You don’t feel like you are living, just barely keeping your nose above the water. The challenge is too daunting, impossible. The mission is impossible! I want you to know that there is a way out!

1. You are made for the mission impossible!

The only logical solution for the Israelites was to stay clear out of the way of the raiding parties bent on destruction. Let them have it whatever they want. Just get out of their way. Don’t upset them. Don’t confront them. Whatever they had left, they just managed to get by, to survive, hiding deep among the rocks, in pits and cisterns.

Chapter 13:23, we read, “a detachment of Philistines had gone out to the pass at Micmash.” We know from the story that it was a detachment of 20 soldiers to defend the pass. Verse 4 and 5 describes the strategic advantage for this pass. On each side of the pass… was a cliff, called Bozez to the north and Seneh to the South. The only way into Micmash where the Philistines troops were was climbing through this narrow passs. And, from above the pass surrounded by un-scalable cliffs mere 20 soldiers were enough to thwart a whole.

Verse 2 tells us Saul was staying under the shade of a pomegranate with his six hundred men, trying to clear out of the way of the Philistines. A priest named Ahijah was with Saul. This priest was a direct descendant of Eli, a cursed priest, who honored his wicked sons more than honoring God. Verse 3 says, “No one was aware that Jonathan had left.” This shows the spiritual dullness of this priest Ahijah as well as Saul.

While his father Saul seemed to resign to the reality that the mission was impossible, Jonathan had a taste for the impossible challenge! While the insignificantly small number of troop was laying low under the radar of the raiding parties, Jonathan was going straight up to the pass at Micmash. He was on his hands and his feet climbing up to the pass. The mission was humanly and logically speaking impossible. Scaling up to the pass was a suicide mission. All that the enemies had to do was throw some rocks down at them.

But, verse 6 reveals to us what he was made of! He told his young armor-bearer, “Come, let’s go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised fellows. Perhaps the LORD will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving, whether by many or by few.”

Jonathan wasn’t taken back by the fact that he was outnumbered, completely exposed and vulnerable from the enemies attack from the higher ground. Something in him compelled him to defy the common sense, the logic of human mind. It reminds me of David’s prayer from Psalm 61:2, “From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” Jonathan was not dumb. He knew exactly what he was up against, the impossible mission! But, he didn’t let the common sense and fear dictate him and drive him away from facing the impossible mission.

Instead, he set his eyes on the rock that was higher than he. Isn’t this what Hebrews writer wrote in chapter 12:1-3. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning it shame, and sat at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

When God calls his children he calls them out of status quo, maintenance lifestyle, fear-driven decisions and inactions to the higher rock, to Jesus Christ. We as children of God are made for the challenges, the difficulties. We are made for the mission impossible. We are made to laugh and stare at the adversaries because we serve God who allows nothing to hinder him from carrying out his saving grace!

Again, I remind you the theme God is trying to drill into your mind. He wants to bless you nothing but the kingdom growth, phenomenal and miraculous resurrection growth! He is here to awaken you from the slumber. “Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you” says Ephesians 5:14.

Here is the second thing I see in today’s passage.

2. You are called to incredible friendship!

Listen to Jonathan’s armor bearer in verse 7, “Do all that you have in mind… Go ahead; I am with you heart and soul.”

I don’t know about you. When I read this man’s response to Jonathan, this moved me; this inspired me. Here was Jonathan inspired by the Spirit of God to take on the mission impossible. And, right along side of him was this equally courageous man who was made of the same stuff, like mind, heart and action!

When was last time you heard someone tell you, “I am with you heart and soul!” If you want to have a friend, this is the kind of friend you want for your life, a friend who stands by you, who covers your back, who is not afraid to lay down his or her life for you.

This is the kind of stuff that makes legends; that makes the grown up-macho like guys cry like a baby. This is the kind of stuff that you and I yearn for, brotherhood and sisterhood bound by the blood of Jesus Christ, thicker than any blood!

We are meant to bond with the supernatural, legendary, self-sacrificing, passionate love for each other in fighting for the cause of Jesus Christ. In the time of wars, in the time of the great battles, the bond of the brotherhood and sisterhood solidifies and rise to erase the memory of superficiality. In the time of the great battles, we are made to be one in Jesus Christ!

This the kingdom stuff, guys! You don’t get this anywhere else. Do you want to gain brothers and sisters who will stand by you, who will run with you, who will fight with you, who will defend you, who will stare at the adversaries and laugh with you and who will gladly lady down their lives for you?

Then, you got to enlist in the kingdom of God. You got to fight for the right King and fight for his battles! These precious relationships are made when you join the kingdom of God and live for your King’s cause!

If you suffer with loneliness, then join the kingdom of God, live for God’s cause! Give yourself wholehearted to the cause of Jesus Christ, for the kingdom cause! You will gain friends who will be with you with heart and soul, who will run the race with you!

3. You are called to discern God’s will!

When we take on the mission impossible, our marching order comes from none other than our King! The zeal and passion to take on the challenge is not enough. We must learn to wait patiently for God’s sign, for God to let us know his concrete will.

This is exactly what Jonathan did. His heart was burning to take on the impossible mission to take back the territory that God had given to Israel in promise from the formidable foe. Yet, he was only going to act if it was God’s will!

As he and his arm bearer climbed up toward the pass and were seen by the men, if these men were to call them up to the pass, it was going to be the sign from God that the Lord had given them into their hands. If these men were to say they were coming down to Jonathan and his arm bearer, then they were going to stay put.

Surely, as Jonathan had in his mind, the men above the pass called them up! Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, “Climb up after me; the LORD has given them into the hand of Israel,” in verse 12.

I want you to notice something here. According to verse 10, God was giving the enemies into their hands, but in verse 12, God was giving them into the hand of Israel. This tells us that Jonathan was not out to make himself look good. He was not promoting himself. But, he was all about realizing God’s promise for his nation. He was patriotic man.

God doesn’t have us take on the mission impossible for our sake, for our fame. It is not about us; but it is about the life of church; it is about the life of our brothers and sisters in Christ; it is about those whom God has called and have yet to respond to him; it is about God’s will! Your will be done, not my will!

4. You are called to co-labor with Christ to accomplish the mission impossible with his resurrection power.

What else can you expect when God stirs and moves his people into fulfilling his kingdom will?

Verse 13-14 says, “Jonathan climbed up, using his hands and feet, with his armor-bearer right behind him. The Philistines fell before Jonathan and his armor-bearer followed and killed behind him. In that first attack Jonathan and his armor-bearer killed some twenty men in an area of about half an acre.

This couldn’t happen, humanly speaking. The twenty men could have defended the whole army the Israelites. But, it says that the Philistines fell before Jonathan. Jonathan and his armor-bearer fought valiantly because God empowered them with his power.

When Gods puts in our hearts desire to take on the mission impossible and we act on his prompting, we become co-labor with Christ to accomplish the mission impossible with his resurrection life and power.

Concluding remarks

I pray this for you. I pray that God stirs you to be discontent with things as they are, to be frustrated with the status quo, maintenance and mediocre mode, but to take to the heart your God given calling to take on the mission impossible with God’s power for his kingdom and to witness God’s great saving acts!

1 Corinthians 15:58, Resurrection Life!

In the book titled, On the Anvil, Max Lucado wrote about Billie Sicard, a well-to do woman. She lived on the exclusive Sunset Island in Miami since 1937. She died in 1979, but her spirit had died in 1954. On the evening in 1954, her only reason to live left her; her twelve-year-old son, George, died of a brain tumor. After her husband left, her little George was her life. When he died in 1954, she resigned from life.

Until shed died in 1979, she left George’s toys, his room, his stuffs untouched for 25 years. When the house was sold after her death, little George’s Cub Scout uniform was still hanging in the downstairs coat closet. On the wall was a child’s sketch of a choo-choo train drawn in red crayon. She had never washed it off. His Mickey Mouse slippers sat in the corner of his bedroom. When her son died, Billie resigned from life and became a social recluse. She no longer cared any more. Her neglected, uncared house with the overgrown weeds and trees became the source of the ghost stories in town. She died in 1979, but she gave up living in 1954.

Lucado wrote, “Man must have something larger than death… or death takes man.” This is exactly what happened to Billie. The sorrow over her son’s death sunk her to the bottom where she saw no hope.

Compare this to last Monday night!

I rode with Pastor Hong, his wife and Adelaide and Eddie’s dad to be with Paul and Julie’s grandfather. He had been in coma for a while. With the doctor’s recommendation, the family made the difficult decision to discontinue the breathing machine to allow Mr. Kwan to die naturally. I arrived at the hospital around 10:45 pm. He was surrounded by his family members and the church members. For the next hour and half, we filled the room with God’s words, prayers and hymns. I remember well what Paul and Julie’s mom said to her dad before he took his last breath. “Dad, I am so proud of you.” When he took the last breath, there were heartfelt sorrows and cries in the room. But, they were not the kinds that paralyze you into the abyss of despair, hopeless, darkness as it did for Billie.

Listen to what John Piper wrote about his father’s own death on March 6, 2007.

I had slept a little since his last morphine shot at ten. One ear sleeping, one on the breathing. At 11:45, I awoke. The breaths were coming more frequently and were very shallow. I will not sleep again, I thought. For ten minutes, I prayed aloud into his left ear with Bible texts and pleadings to Jesus to come and take him. I had made this case before, and this time felt an unusual sense of partnership with Daddy as I pressed on the Lord to relieve this warrior of his burden.

I finished and lay down. Good. Thank you, Lord. It will not be long. And, grace upon grace, hundreds of prayers are being answered: He is not choking.

The gurgling that threatened to spill over and drown him in the afternoon had sunk deep, and now there was simple clear air, shorter and shorter. I listened from where I lay next to him on a foldout chair.

That’s it. I rose and waited. Will he breathe again? Nothing. Fifteen or twenty seconds, and then a gasp. I was told to expect these false endings. But it was not false. The gasp was the first of two. But no more breaths. I waited, watching. No facial expressions. His face had frozen in place hours before. One more jerk. That was all. Perhaps an eyebrow twitch a moment later. Nothing more.

I stroked his forehead and sang,

My gracious Master and My God

Assist me to proclaim

To spread through all the earth abroad

The honors of thy name.

Daddy, how many thousands awaited you because of your proclamation of the great gospel. You were faithful. You kept the faith, finished the race, fought the fight…

...I combed his hair. He always wore a tie. The indignities of death are many, but we tried to minimize them. Keep the covers straight. Pull the gown up around his neck so it looks like a sharp turtleneck. Tuck the gappy shoulder slits down behind so they don’t show. Use a wet washcloth to keep the secretions from crusting in the eyelashes. And by all means, keep his hair combed. So now I straightened his bedding and combed his hair and wiped his eyes and put the mouth moisturizer on his lips and tried to close his mouth. His mouth would not stay closed. It had been set in that position from hours and hours of strained breathing. But he was neat. A strong, dignified face.”

I am all the more convinced today that there is something beautiful, assuring, dignifying, and hopeful about the death of Christians. I couldn’t help but imagine the kind of death I will encounter. Will I be surrounded by my beloved families, friends who will be sad to see me leave, who will be proud of me, and who will rejoice and celebrate my eternal life in Jesus Christ? Will I hear God speak to me, “Well done, good and faithful servant?” More I think about death, my heart yearns for the dignified, holy and warm last moments.

1. What makes a death of a Christian beautiful, assuring, dignified, and hopeful?

Apostle Paul says without Christ’s resurrection, our faith is futile and that those who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost and that we are to be pitted more than all men in 1 Corinthians 15:17-19. If death has the final say, then all is vain, all is without hope, nor meaning. But, the final say for Christian life is not death, but the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

The final say over our lives is the creed, the rock solid confession of our faith in Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 says:

that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. 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. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to the one abnormally born.

Just as Christ is raised from the dead, the Scripture teaches us that we too will be resurrected. 1 Corinthians 15:42-44 speaks of this truth:

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

If you were there at Paul and Julie’s grandfather’s wake service, you will agree with me that it was as though Mr. Kwan was in deep sleep; he looked as though he was going to wake up in any moment. This is really the reality for Christians; the death doesn’t have the final say over Christians, the resurrection of Jesus does.

1 Corinthians 15:51-58 says:

Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed-- in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

The reason the death of Christians is beautiful, assuring, dignified and hopeful is because the death doesn’t have the final say, but the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. That’s the difference between the death of Billie and the death of Paul and Julie’s grandfather and John Piper’s father.

The resurrection makes Christian death beautiful, assuring, dignified and hopeful. But, does it make any real impact on our daily living?

2. How does the resurrection of Jesus Christ make impact on your daily living?

Jesus said to Nicodemus in John 3:7, “You must be born again.” Why do we need to be born again? Apostle Paul said in Ephesians 2:1, “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit of who is now at work in those who are disobedient.”

Why do we need to be born again? It is because we were dead. Regardless of how active, vibrant, productive, seemingly full of life, fun, passionate a person may appear to be, without Christ, a person is dead.

Ephesians 2:3 says that this reality of death manifests itself in gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts all that are contrary to the ways of God. This happens because the spiritual death is the separation from God and the incapability to live in joyful submission to God’s reign.

Ephesians 2:4-6 says, “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when were dead in transgressions- it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.”

Mercy is I quote, “God’s compassion for the helpless, issuing in action for their relief.”[1] We were all powerless and incapable to surrender our lives to God’s reign. But, in mercy, instead of writing us off as helpless, powerless, useless object to be discarded, God gave us the new life in his grace. The new life in Christ is the direct effect of the resurrection life of Jesus Christ. Another word, as Christians we live through the resurrection life of Jesus Christ.

Jesus said in John 4:34, “My food… is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.” And, he said in John 5:19-20, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does.” John 5:30, “for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.” John 8:28, “When you have lifted the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the one I claim to be and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.” John 15:10, “…I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love.”

This is the very essence of the resurrection life of Jesus as the Son of God. His work was to do will of the Father. He spoke and did everything to please the Father. His obedience to Father’s will and commands was his expression of his devotion, love and affection for the Father.

What makes the death of Christians particularly meaningful, dignifying, honoring, and worthy is that the life of Christians is lived out in loving relationship with the Father, doing his will as Jesus did.

So, when we think of resurrection life of our Lord Jesus Christ and our life, we need to think of them in terms of the resurrection life of Jesus Christ enabling us to live a life of loving obedience to the Father here and now and forever.

After Apostle Paul passionately spoke about the victory through our resurrected Lord Jesus Christ that takes out the sting of death, he said this in 1 Corinthians 15:58, “Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”

This is not an optional call to some saintly holy people. To stand firm, to let nothing move you, to give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord is not an optional outcome for you; this is your destiny as God’s child. Your destiny is to live victoriously; your resurrection DNA in Christ is designed to mature you into joyful and passionate submission and love for the Father and for his work!

We need to pray for this end. We need to set our hope and expectation high. The resurrection life of our Lord Jesus demands nothing but the miraculous outcome, complete transformation, kingdom growth! So, we ought to pray for this end!

Are you worried about your future? Who will I marry, where I will go for college, what will I study, what kinds of job will I have, will I make enough money, will I be recognized? Jesus says, “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33)

Are you tired and burdened? Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-29)

Are you searching for something will make your life worth living for or to die for? Jesus says, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.” Jesus is saying to you, “Don’t waste your time; the true cause worth to live and to die for is not found any where else, but in God.” For Jesus, doing the will of Father was the cause worth to live and to die for. This is what we ought to aim for! (Matthew 13:44)

Church, are you discouraged because you are not growing, because you don’t see us growing as church? Jesus says, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Thought it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches.”

Church, we need to set our eyes on the kingdom growth. The kingdom growth is nothing but miraculous. If we look with the eyes of human, we see a small, insignificant gathering of people. But, when God sees us, you and I, our church, he sees a mustard seed with the exponential, nothing short of miraculous growth waiting to happen. That is our DNA; we are made for the kingdom growth! And, we need to alter, adjust our prayer life, actions accordingly. God’s will is to make us a large tree where people can come and experience the rest and the healing under the shade of God’s love, where people can be nourished and nurtured into maturity with the spiritual food and spiritual fellowship, where people can be equipped to minister for the kingdom cause to live and to die for. (Matthew 13:31-32)

Let me share with you what I have been praying for our church. I want our gathering to be where we experience joy, fun, excitement and passion. I want our time together to be so fun, meaningful, and exciting that no parties in this world can top our time together. I want our fellowship, our time together to be where we are strengthened with the joy of the LORD. I want our gathering to be truly a place where we meet God and enter into joyful fellowship with God and with each other. I want our time together to be when God shows up and do great things. I want our gathering, our church to be where we are quipped with passion and knowledge in order to go out and be effective and powerful witness to the resurrection life of Jesus. I want my life, your life to count every moment at school, at work, with families, with friends, alone or together. I want us to live intentionally and purposely. I want us to live for what really matters, what’s really important, what will last!

Is this too much to hope for and ask? If we take seriously the resurrection life of Jesus Christ demanding nothing short of miraculous transformation and growth for us, no!

Applications

I want to show you a clip that captures our Father’s heart so well. It is by the father and son team, Dick and Rick Hoyt. Rick was born in 1962 as a spastic quadriplegic, cerebral palsy, non-speaking person because the umbilical cord coiled around his neck and cut off oxygen to his brain. His parents, Dick and Judy were told that there would be no hope for their child’s development. When Rick was eight months old, they were told by the doctors they should put him away. But, they were determined to raise Rick as “normally” as possible and put him through public school.

Although Rick couldn’t communicate or move normally, his mind was sharp. With the help of Tufts University engineers, Rick was able to communicate with the computer. His first “spoken” words were “Go Bruins.” The Boston Bruins were in the Stanley Cup finals that season; Rick has been following the hockey games along with everyone else. They learned that Rick loved sports then.

In 1975, Rick told his father he wanted to participate in a five-mile benefit run for a local lacrosse player who had been paralyzed in an accident. Dick pushed his son Rick in his wheelchair and finished next to last. That night, Dick remembers, “Rick told us he just don’t feel handicapped when we were competing.”

Together, they ran marathons; and soon they were in triathlon with a newly built bike to carry Rick in front and a boat tied to Dick’s waist as he swam.

The video clip is from one of the triathlons they have finished with the back ground music titled, “Redeemer” by Nicole C. Mullen. The song goes like this:

Who taught the sun where to stand in the morning

Who told the ocean you can only come this far?

Who showed the moon where to hide 'til evening

Whose words alone can catch a falling star?

Well I know my Redeemer lives

I know my Redeemer lives

All of creation testify

This life within me cries

I know my Redeemer lives

The very same God that spins things in orbit

He runs to the weary, the worn and the weak

And the same gentle hands that hold me when I'm broken

They conquered death to bring me victory

Now I know my Redeemer lives

I know my Redemer lives

Let all creation testify

Let this life wihtin me cry

I know my Redeemer, He lives

To take away my shame

And He lives forever I'll proclaim

That the payment for my sin

Was the precious life He gave

But now He's alive

And there's an empty grave.

And I know my Redeemer, He lives

I know my Redeemer lives

Let all creation testify

This life within me cries

I know my Redeemer lives

What I want you to pay attention are the incredible bond between the father and his child and their joy together as they finish the race. It illustrates our relationship with heavenly Father made possible by the resurrection life of Jesus Christ.