Vital Signs

MP3 File: 

20110501 Sermon.mp3

Last week was Easter—we celebrated Christ's Resurrection...we talked about the power of the Resurrection, and we talked about life—abundant life, life as it was meant to be before sin and human nature got in and messed everything up.

The Resurrection isn't just something to celebrate once a year. The power of Resurrection is something to be experienced every day. The Resurrection brings power for life all year long.

So let's go beyond the Resurrection and look at power God gives us to live every day.

• So many feel like they've hit a dead end. They don't know how they're going to go on. They are frustrated by situations or circumstances that make their lives miserable—a living hell.
• Others are constantly bombarded with painful memories, sad events, set-backs and disappointments things that suck all the joy out of their lives. So they can't get any traction to get back into the normal flow of traffic. With all the baggage they carry, they can't live a normal life.
• Others feel trapped by the people they live with or work with—difficult people, angry people, addicted people, controlling people. Life isn't much fun when you're constantly dealing with dysfunctional people.
• Still others aren't bothered by any of these things—but they are unable to overcome certain temptations. They struggle but live in defeat, never really experiencing total victory.

And yet the same Jesus who came to conquer sin and death also came to give new life and hope. He came to give us power to live in victory.

Power is available to you—God's power, Resurrection power—to live each day, dealing with the troubles and problems of life.

And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. Romans 8:11 (NIV)

The miracle of the Resurrection didn't stop with Christ coming out of the tomb. The miracle has continued ever since, releasing supernatural power every day into the lives of ordinary, natural people. People like you and me!

The supernatural power that restored life to the dead body of our Savior, is the same supernatural power that brings life to our dead souls...even when we were dead in our trespasses and sins (as it tells us in Eph 2).

But not just to our souls! The power that raised Jesus from the dead is the same power that raises us to spiritual life from spiritual death. He gives life to mortal bodies—that is, physical, natural bodies destined to die.

In that sense, the Resurrection occurs every day! Over and over again every day all over the globe the power of the Resurrection is on put on display as people who are spiritually dead are raised to new life in Christ...and it happens again when they live with power over their old ways and sinful nature.

David Wilkerson, who was killed this week in a car crash at the age of 79, believed God gives the power to overcome. Wilkerson became the founder of Teen Challenge, helping thousands and thousands to overcome addictions and live in victory, because he believed in the power of the Resurrection.

...if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Cor 5:17)

Not only are we brought from spiritual death to spiritual life by Resurrection power, we also receive power to live supernaturally while in a natural body. Resurrection power gives us strength to do better; ability to conquer life-sucking habits, addictions, and sins; the power to live righteous, holy lives.

God wants to empower us to live. God wants us to discover the strength of his Resurrection power in our daily lives. He wants us to experience his supernatural power in our natural lives.

Paul, the apostle, wrote about some of his own pain and trouble. What he discovered about God's power in the midst of trouble can help us overcome our own troubles...

⁷ To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. ⁸ Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. ⁹ But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. ¹⁰ That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Cor 12:7-10 (NIV)

Paul discovered God's power in a surprising way—by facing up to his own limitations. We can learn from Paul something about living in God's power. Key steps to living a life of power:

1.     Accept your thorn. Paul experienced a thorn in the flesh (v 7)—a messenger of Satan (!)—which was sent to torment him and to keep him from becoming too conceited or proud.

• When a "thorn" comes into your life, don't automatically think the best thing to do is to get rid of it! Trials or troubles can be tools God uses to keep you from thinking you're something special.
• A thorn isn't usually that big. We're not talking about a major problem—a spear or a sword or a dagger. It's just a thorn—a tiny splinter! And yet a splinter can cause a lot of discomfort. It can distract you, interfere with what you want to do, and keep you from your peak performance.
• God used a thorn (sent from Satan!) to keep Paul from becoming too proud. Proud about what? About special revelations! About spiritual experiences—divine insights, visions, spiritual dreams—the gifts and anointing of God's Spirit!
• Just when God is able to do something fresh in us, renewing our spirits, we encounter new temptations. There's a danger—a risk—that comes when God begins to work in special ways in us. Pride over spiritual things is just as bad as any other kind of pride! Do you know why? Because pride is whenever we put the spotlight on ourselves.
• Pride can destroy a believer. When we focus on ourselves, we shift our focus away from God. The more we congratulate ourselves on all the spiritual progress we've made, the more we feel smug about how our godliness, the less we depend on God.
• Pride creeps in slowly, stealthily. It's almost undetectable at first. But pride begins to undermine our trust and faith in God. It erodes our dependence on God because we somehow think our spiritual growth is more about us than it is about God.
• So God allows Satan to bring us thorns—small, irritating, painful, nuisance thorns. We think it's terrible—to be bothered by Satan. But it's better to have a thorn than be consumed with pride!

2.     Rely on grace. Paul had to learn to depend utterly upon God's grace—and nothing else (v 9). He needed to learn what God meant when he said,"My grace is sufficient for you."

• As human beings, we tend to rely on our own sufficiency. We honor and respect those self-made entrepreneurs. We applaud those who pulled themselves up by their own bootstraps.
• If we are confident and self-sufficient, we think we need nothing but determination and diligence.
• The church of Laodicea (Rev 3:14ff) thought they had it all together. They said, "I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing" (v 17, NASB).
• Their self-sufficient attitude caused them to lose their dependence on God—and their longing for God. They didn't need God, they thought, because they could handle life themselves.
• Until finally Jesus said, "You make me sick to my stomach! Nauseous. You're lukewarm... You're stale. You're stagnant. You make me want to vomit." (v 15, MSG).
• We think we can handle problems on our own—and as a result we seldom stretch our faith. We attempt only things we know we can handle. Pleased to be self-sufficient, we go no further!
• What would happen if we'd say, "God we want to see things happen that only you can do. We want to see things with no explanation other than that you showed up and your grace came down!"

3.     Let God's power mature. We have a problem: we have power, but only a little power—we have God's power in its infancy.

• We must look for God's power to mature. God wants his power to "grow up" in you.
• It's like we have only an acorn's worth of power, but God wants us to have power like a mighty oak! It's the same essence—an acorn and an oak. It's the same DNA. But there's a big difference between an acorn and an oak.
• We must allow God's power to mature. I'm not talking about mighty miracles—not yet. I'm not talking about parting the waters of the St. Louis River and crossing on dry ground. I'm just talking about living for God in difficult circumstances by the strength of his power.
• How does that happen? How can God's power mature in us? Paul discovered that God's power is perfected in weakness! That word perfected in the original language simply meant to be completed, to be finished, to become mature.
• Here's the amazing truth: God's power becomes mature in us when it is revealed in our weakness! ...my power is made perfect in weakness. God says, My power shows up best in weak people. 2 Cor 12:9 (LB).
• Paul discovered his human limitations were like an artist's canvas, but the painting on the canvas was entirely God and his power; Paul's weaknesses were like a trophy case, but the trophies showcased inside were all about God's strength (v 9)—"my power is made perfect in weakness."
• ...we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 2 Cor 4:7 (NIV)

4.     Brag about your weakness. I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, Paul said, so that Christ's power may rest on me (v 9).

• Typically we brag about things that make us look good. We want to brag about our accomplishments. About our good works. About our abilities or talents or strengths.
• We don't want to brag about our weaknesses! Our kids don't bring home their school assignments and tests with "F"s on them and ask us to hang them on the refrigerator! No kid comes bursting through the door, waving his report card in his hand, shouting, "Look Mom! I got four F's this time!"
• It goes against our nature to brag about things that make us look bad. But in the spiritual realm, if we put our weaknesses on display and boast about them, what happens? That's when God's glory and power is displayed more dramatically.
• God is honored more when we boast in our weaknesses. When we hide our weaknesses and try to put our accomplishments and talents on display, what happens? We obscure the view of God with our own stuff.
• It's like a foggy day when you drive into Duluth, and you can't see the lake because of all the fog in the way. As long as we brag about our strengths, then we fog the view so much with our stuff that we can't see God's stuff.
• But if we can boast in our weaknesses, God's power is released in us all the more. Why? Because we have stepped out of the way. Because we have cleared the way for God.
• Boasting in (accepting and embracing) our weaknesses opens the door to Christ's power. It's when we realize how weak we are (inadequate, incapable, vulnerable) that we can finally come to realize the real source of spiritual strength (v 10)—when I am weak, then I am strong. ...the less I have, the more I depend on him. 2 Cor 12:10 (LB).

I love the story (probably apocryphal) about a mother who wanted to encourage her young son with his piano lessons, so she took him to a Ignacy Jan Paderewski concert. After they were seated, the mother spotted a friend in the audience and walked down the aisle to greet her.

     Seizing the opportunity to explore the wonders of the concert hall, the little boy rose and eventually explored his way through a door marked "NO ADMITTANCE." When the house lights dimmed and the concert was about to begin, the mother returned to her seat and discovered that the child was missing.

     Suddenly, the curtains parted and spotlights focused on the impressive Steinway on stage. In horror, the mother saw her little boy sitting at the keyboard, oblivious to the audience, innocently picking out "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star."

Just at that moment, the great piano master made his entrance, quickly moved to the piano, and whispered in the boy's ear, "Don't quit. Keep playing." Then leaning over, Paderewski reached down with his left hand and began filling in a bass part. Then his right arm reached around to the other side of the child and he added a running obligato. Together, the old master and the young novice transformed a frightening situation into a wonderfully creative experience. And the audience was mesmerized.

     Whatever our situation in life and history—however outrageous, however desperate, whatever dry spell of the spirit, whatever dark night of the soul—God is whispering deep within our beings, "Don't quit. Keep playing. You may feel weak and vulnerable. You may feel powerless. But you are not alone. I will show my supernatural ability in your limitations. My power is made perfect in your weakness. Let me work with you to transform your feeble attempts into something great. To transform your brokenness into a thing of beauty."

...these limitations that cut me down to size— abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become. 2 Cor 12:10 (MSG)