Dead

Our passage for Sunday appears to be some really bad news! Ephesians 2:1-3 starts out;

"And you were dead..."

What a contrast to the wonders of what we have in Christ as declared in chapter One. I think the Holy Spirit wants us to fully understand the desperate condition we were in because grasping that we were really dead opens the door for a life fully alive to Him. At least two troubles assail us when we fail to grasp that before Christ we were dead.

1) As a little kid I knew I needed Jesus but I didn't really get that I was dead. As a result I think I harbored the notion that my efforts and abilities helped Jesus redeem my soul. That sort of beginning leads to what Tozer calls a "Jesus and ..." approach to the Christian walk. I hold the idea that I can reform my own life, if I just try harder I can overcome sin ... I depend on Jesus - sort of, but it is mostly up to me. It leads to a christian life marked by struggle and defeat - the Lord didn't intend that for us.

2) The second problem is that because I didn't realize I was really dead - I don't think the world is really dead either - it just needs a bit of Jesus and a bit of moral reformation and all will be well - or at least better. Our country had periods when it was very "religious" and had a moral veneer - God had to bring a Great Awakening to bring real redemption - real life. During that event people suddenly saw how dead they were and that is what led to great stories of redemption. I am afraid that too many in the church just want to morally reform the world and actually think it is possible - God wants people to see that they are dead - there is NO LIFE outside of Him .... then and only then can people be alive and awake to the Lord.I am not sure that our purpose is to help people be better - rather, through the Spirit  - to enable them to see that they are dead.

So, we will consider in our service that we WERE dead, enslaved and condemned. Then we will reflect that through Jesus it is not our present condition - we are NOW alive, redeemed, His portion, His beloved.!!

06 You Have Redeemed My Soul

You Have Redeemed My Soul

Written by Don & Lori Chaffer

You Have Redeemed My Soul
from The Pit Of Emptiness
you Have Redeemed My Soul
from Death

i Was A Hungry Child
a Dried Up River
i Was A Burned Out Forest
and No One Could Do Anything For Me

but You Put Food In My Body
water In My Dry Bed
and To My Blackened Branches You Brought The
springtime Rain Of New Life
and Nothing Is Impossible For You