The Resurrected Life, Part Six...

Sermon on 1 John 5:9-13

Well, we made it. This is the last of our series on the Resurrected Life. This attempt for me to try and make clear to you what the Resurrection, what Easter, has to do with everything. Something more than a day but a way of life. A formation of your soul into something other than what the world might say is you. Read the letter again this afternoon. It will take you less than 10 minutes. You can come away from it asking God to show you the dark places he has to call you out of into his marvelous light. The places you and I protect to hide our sin. But the light being the light of Christ that is his forgiveness. What he wants to do.
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Read about you as a child of God. Being joined in the great communion that is Christ that brings us to God. That in that communion, that fellowship, that relationship, we are molded more and more by the love of God. Not our own love, but the love Christ has for us in his life and death. Love that looks like a crucifixion, not like a high school romance. Love for the unlovable. A deciding love in which we need to pray each day to have our wills, our hearts, our lives continually formed by his love. Depending on him for all things.

The Resurrected Life, as we have seen, consists of Jesus physically coming to earth for you. Physically living so he can physically die for you. Physically rise for you.

Now we have the parting remarks. But John would appear to not be worth an A in my mom’s English class. His direct purpose statement is all the way down in Verse 13 of chapter 5 – I write these things to you that you might know that you have eternal life. There it is. Prior to this declaration, if you remember chapter 1 – what we have seen and heard we also declare to you in order that you might have fellowship with us. Starting with Christ and ending with Christ.

1 John 5:9 – But sometimes we don’t believe what we hear, right?

• Witness of man – 2 or 3 witness needed for a conviction in the Bible, needed in order to be believed. 
• What is it we believe of life, our times, the truth?
• What has convinced us, not even in matters of faith or doctrine but just us, here now? Social media, TV, Internet, Radio, Newspapers, Gossip – Did you hear…
• John has a better testimony – Testimony or witness of God; How does that catch you? I don't know?!?!?!?
• The three witnesses that agree that we miss from verse 8 – Water/Word – God's declaration of who Christ is for you at baptism - This is my Beloved Son; The blood – flesh-and-bone Jesus; the Christ come for you; cross, empty tomb, seated at the right hand now; The Spirit – working in us to give us life, birth, everything; empowering us for testimony as we hear in Acts 1.
  

1 John 5:10 – This faith we receive, quite literally given to us, John says, is something growing inside us. Something dwelling there. Something that has made a home.

• Think of a sapling or new growth plant. Little seedling that has taken root. Needing the light of Christ shining on it, and the food of the Word to grow it, nourish it. The work of the preacher and the Word preached is to do that. Be that light empowered by what God will do through it.
• That faith living inside that trusts that what God has said and done is true. Church as the place to be immersed in it. Church not where you come for a rally, or for club meetings, but to be served by Christ in his Word and Sacraments to be given life in a world of death; fed for the journey.
• Otherwise we call God a liar. Jesus says – I forgive you. We say – liar, liar, pants on fire.
• Have you ever been called a liar? Have you ever not been believed for something that was true?
• God comes to us in Jesus, and we do the same, calling him that liar until his word does its work in us.

1 John 5:11 – That is why I have spent so much time on The Resurrected Life. Its a declarative statement. “YOU HAVE LIFE IN CHRIST!”

• But what is life? We all have a life, or life? Some of us better than others. But here in verse 11 John says – God has given you eternal life, and this life is in his Son. As though we don’t have life. The Greek gives it the article so better yet – The Life, over and against this life.
• What does the world tell you? What is life? 60 hours a week until your 65 or dead? House, health, food, drink, money, property, family, friends, Retirement, 900 channels with nothing to watch, the right politician, winning, sports, championships, grandchildren, vacation? What?
• Ecclesiastes 2:1-11; 24-26 – What have we amassed for ourselves apart from God? Things that die. That rot. That go away. Losing Minnesota sports teams. Houses that need repair. Cars that need trading in. Hearts that give out. Hair that turns grey. Children that grow and leave us. Yet – Who can eat and who can enjoy life apart from him? God? Life in Christ. Christ regularly giving us of himself to take us from all the things that take us away.

1 John 5:12 – The Resurrected Life lives and moves and has its being in Jesus. Not in rules or churchy-churchness. Jesus. Resting in him. Not you, not the world – Christ. As Tom said on Wednesday, the only one to die and rise again, and he gives that to you. The Resurrected Life. A life, if you think about it, that we actually pray.

• The Lord’s Prayer is doctrine. Is life for us.
• Our Father – Authority, goodness, joining a family, not just yours but ours, children of God
• Heavenly and holy – set apart, above us, seeing us, knowing us, different than us
• His Kingdom & will – not ours. Imagine that for a second. Not your kingdom or will.
• Give us bread – the bread we need, our provision for the day. 3 meals? 1 meal? What does it look like as normal. Also the Bread of Life – Jesus. Your Jesus. You know the song – Give me Jesus
• Forgiveness – every single day needing resurrection, needing to be forgiven because I know that I suck. Imagine life without forgiveness. How many of you hold a grudge against someone to this day? How does it control you? Keep you from things, from life? Or how many of you have tried to stay mad at someone? Your kids? Your pets? Then they do something that makes you laugh and your like – Stop it. I’m mad at you.
• Save us from temptation, deliver us from evil – regular call. The temptations of life can get us down so often. Addicts understand this prayer. Save me from me is what we should say.
• Then the Kingdom, the power and the glory are who’s? Yours, now and forever. Not my glory or kingdom or power. God’s. Even better, Christ’s. And this same Jesus who holds the power and the kingdom is the one who grants it to us in this life. Eternal life that cannot die.

The resurrected Life is God’s gift to the dying. To know that all other things fade but God is forever, and we have been granted koinonia, communion with him. Life in his Son. Life in Him. That when everything else goes away. Age catches up to us. Our bodies fail. All the things we thought make up a good life are not fun anymore, we get brought deeper and deeper into satisfaction in Jesus. Knowing that he is all things. ALL THINGS for you. Because Resurrection is true. The dead shall be raised and that includes you. God’s giving the final finger to death and the devil when we fall asleep in God only to be awakened that day in his presence.
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